There are multiple claims to the world's biggest ball of twine record in the United States. As of 2014, the ball of twine with the largest circumference is located in Cawker City, Kansas.
Largest ball of sisal twine built by a community
In Cawker City, Kansas, Frank Stoeber created a ball that had 1.6 million feet of twine and when he died in 1974. Cawker City built an open-air gazebo over Stoeber's ball where every August a "Twine-a-thon" is held and more twine is added to the ball. By 2006, the twine ball had reached 17,886 pounds, a circumference of, and a length of. In 2013, its weight was estimated at 19,973 pounds. In August 2014, the ball measures in circumference, in diameter and in height, and is still growing.
Largest ball of sisal twine built by a single person
, is the home of a ball of baler twine rolled by Francis A. Johnson. It is in diameter and weighs. Johnson began rolling the twine in March 1950, and wrapped four hours every day for 29 years. It is currently housed in a makeshift pagoda across from the town park on Main Street at to prevent the public from touching it. The town celebrates "Twine Ball Day" on the second Saturday in August every year. An adjacent volunteer-run, free to visit museum and gift shop has information on the history of the ball, as well as selling a variety of souvenirs. It was the long-standing holder of the "biggest ball of twine" title in the Guinness Book of World Records, holding the title from its completion in 1979 until 1994, and was referenced by "Weird Al" Yankovic in his 1989 song "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota."
Heaviest twine ball
In Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin, James Frank Kotera claims to have made the heaviest ball of twine ever built. He started it in 1979 and is still working. Kotera estimates, by measuring the weight of each bag of twine that he winds on, that the ball weighs 8,770 kg, making it the heaviest ball of twine ever built. The ball is housed in an open-air enclosure in Kotera's lawn. The ball has a smaller companion, "Junior", that is made of string.
In Branson, Missouri, a ball of nylon twine built by J. C. Payne of Valley View, Texas, is on display in Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. The ball, which measures 41.5 feet in circumference, was certified as the world's largest ball of twine by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1993. It is, however, the lightest of the four contenders, weighing 12,000 pounds.
Cultural references
"Weird Al" Yankovic's album UHF - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff has a song called "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota". Although ostensibly about the ball in Darwin, Minnesota, Yankovic takes artistic license with the statistics.
* In a case of life imitating art, postcards that read "Greetings from the Twine Ball, wish you were here," a fictitious invention of Yankovic's, are now an attraction in Darwin. The Twineball Inn was a restaurant that has since closed.
*Yankovic refers to the ball itself, and thus his previous work, in the video for "White & Nerdy", wherein a Trivial Pursuit card which includes the question "In what city is the largest ball of twine built by one man?" appears on screen.
In the 50 States of Fright three-episode story "America's Largest Ball of Twine ", a mother and daughter visit America's Largest Ball of Twine in fictional Francis, Kansas, built by Greg Cawker.
The original Sam & Max Hit the Road has The World's Largest Ball of Twine as one of the attractions in the game.
