Minnesota Town Celebrates 30th Anniversary Of Visit From “Weird Al”

Minnesota's 'Biggest Ball of Twine' celebrated an anniversary of sorts on Sunday when they reminisced about 'Weird Al' Yankovic's visit to the site back in 1996.

Once dubbed the WORLD'S Biggest Ball of Twine, the tourist attraction in Darwin, Minnesota is 12 feet in diameter and weighs 17,400 pounds. One man, Francis Johnson, rolled the ball for four hours a day over the course of 29 YEARS!  It was the world record-holder until 1994.

In 1989, Yankovic included a song titled 'The Biggest Ball of Twine In Minnesota" on the soundtrack to his movie, UHF.

In the song, a working dad asks his family where they would go if they could choose anywhere in the world. Their choice? The biggest ball of twine in Minnesota, of course. After all, the family had already been to Elvis-a-Rama, The Tupperware Museum, the Boll Weevil Monument -and- Cranberry World.

On August 16, 1996, Yankovic saw the ball of twine for himself, posing for photos around town. The Darwin, MN Twine Ball's Facebook account shared the now 30-year-old photos on the anniversary of his visit.

Yankovic will bring his 'Bigger and Weirder' tour to the Minnesota State Fair on Friday, August 28th.