From a quaint museum that holds over 3,500 kitchen and household items to a massive underground labyrinth of man-made caves, marvel at some of the “world’s largest” spectacles.
Stop by the tiny town of Sumner to snap a photo with the World’s Largest Goose, Maxie. The 40-foot tall statue with a 62-foot wingspan celebrates the town’s position on a major migratory flyway.
Bring your own string to add to the World’s Largest Spool of Thread. On the front lawn of the Missouri Quilt Museum in the town of Hamilton, the spool stands 22 feet tall. Created locally in partnership with cotton company Aurifil, the structure measures eight feet in diameter and currently holds over a million yards of thread – and growing. Should you find yourself without string, you can buy some at the Missouri Quilt Museum or one of the quilting shops in downtown Hamilton.
Head over to Diamond, Missouri, to visit the World’s Largest Small Electrical Appliance Museum. For collector Richard Larrison, it all started with fans. Antique metal fans led to extensive research and scouring flea markets and eBay for every kind of small electronic appliance. Once the collection took over his basement, he moved it next to JR’s Western Store, where his collection now includes over 3,500 toasters, blenders, mixers, fans, coffee pots, hair dryers, and more.
Take a quick detour off historic Route 66 near Cuba, Missouri, to see the former World’s Largest Rocking Chair. The chair was built to entice customers to the Fanning 66 Outpost and was awarded the title of the World’s Largest Rocking Chair by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2008. Though the 42-foot steel rocker was eclipsed by another rocking chair in 2015, it remains a worthy pit stop.
Explore the expansive man-made underground caves in Bonne Terre, Missouri. Once a thriving lead ore mine, the site flooded in 1962, rendering it unusable, and turning it into the world’s largest subterranean freshwater diving location.
Big adventures await in the Show-Me State. Let this list be your inspiration to go see them yourself.
The original version of this story can be found at Atlas Obscura.
