# Size Does Matter!!!



## Freebird (May 17, 2008)

What do you do if you are a small town in North America or Australia, and hardly anybody stops to spend $$$, they just whiz by on the highway?

Well you build a *BIG THING!!*

Unlike Europe where there are magnificent 1,000 year old castles, palaces cathedrals, here in North America sometimes there is not much to distinguish one town from the next.

So we build big gaudy, kitchy, statues so that people will stop and look. The only worse offenders than Americans are we Canucks!   

>edit< I guess the Aussie's get into the action too....

Here is my thread for a tour of these landmarks. 

Feel free to post a pic of some monstrosity in your local area. Only Criteria: It should be a super-size statue of some object, animal or figure, but not including natural features, architectural buildings or statues of famous people. It should also be somewhere that you have actually been to. Also please note the city state where its from.


The first is the "Big Nickle" in Sudbury, Ontario in Canada


----------



## Freebird (May 17, 2008)

Another view:


----------



## Lucky13 (May 17, 2008)

Looking good FB, hope to see some stuff from B.C mate, got relatives there....


----------



## Freebird (May 17, 2008)

Here is the "Big Dinosaur" from Drumheller, Alberta. {Canada}

The town is in a river valley, they have excavated lots of dinosaur bones other artifacts here.


----------



## Lucky13 (May 17, 2008)




----------



## Heinz (May 17, 2008)

Heres a few from Aus


----------



## Freebird (May 17, 2008)

Lucky13 said:


>



Just for comparison, here is my truck {45,000 kg} parked in front of the big T-Rex!


----------



## Heinz (May 17, 2008)

That is flaming huge!


----------



## Freebird (May 17, 2008)

Heinz said:


> Heres a few from Aus



Good job Heinz, where are they all from? {city, state}

The big Banana says Coffs Harbour the sign in front of the sheep says Wagin, is that in NSW?


----------



## Heinz (May 17, 2008)

The guitar is from Tamworth in New South Wales.

The lobsters from Western Australia. 

The big fish and Koala are from my state Victoria.

The big Ram is from NSW aswell and the big banana is from Queensland.

There are more I'll see what else we have made bigger


----------



## Lucky13 (May 17, 2008)

45 tons, is that the heavies in Canada and US? In Sweden we're driving 60 ton and 25 metres.... Great pics, keep 'em coming!


----------



## Heinz (May 17, 2008)

ok got the giant Captain James Cook, he led the first fleet out to Australia




then a giant marlin outside a shopping centre in Cairns, Queensland




Next a giant 'Ned Kelly' probably the most famous outlaw or bushranger in Australias history. Located in Glenrowan in Victoria





Giant Macadamia nut in Queensland




the giant orange in South Australia




The big Pineapple in Queensland




The big Winch in the mining town of Coober Pedy South Australia




Giant Wool bales, a rather odd one, located in Victoria




Theres a also a massive Worm about 40kms east of my house, cant really find any photos of it though.


----------



## Freebird (May 17, 2008)

Lucky13 said:


> Looking good FB, hope to see some stuff from B.C mate, got relatives there....



OK, here it is....



Lucky13 said:


> 45 tons, is that the heavies in Canada and US? In Sweden we're driving 60 ton and 25 metres.... Great pics, keep 'em coming!



In the USA almost all states have a maximum 40 tons, a few allow 45 or 50 for a multi axle or twin trailers. In Canada it's 47 tons max for tandem axle trailers, 55 for triple and 63 tons max for Quad axle trailers.


Now if you want a Really Big Truck


Here is the world's largest truck, now retired and on display in Sparwood, B.C.

It weighs a whopping 250 tons, and can carry 350 tons of ore, for a total vehicle weight of *600 tons*!

Thats me standing in front of the wheel by the way....


----------



## Heinz (May 17, 2008)

Thats massive, infact epic could be better to describe it. Some of the trucks up the big iron ore mines in Western Australia aren't far of that size though. 

Then theres our Road trains..........


----------



## Freebird (May 17, 2008)

Here is the giant "Paul Bunyan" statue at the "Trees of Mystery" attraction on highway 101, Northern California. {on the Pacific Coast}

{Pictured with his bull "Blue"}


----------



## Freebird (May 17, 2008)

Supposedly Paul Bunyan is one of the most common statues in the USA, he can be found in 20 different states, including California, Oregon, Michigan, Florida, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Minnisota others.

List of "Bunyan statues"

Paul Bunyan Catalog. Roadside America

Below:

Bunyan in Portland, Oregon

Bunyan in Los Angeles, California


----------



## Freebird (May 17, 2008)

And the Wawa Goose, in Wawa Ontario, Canada


----------



## Wayne Little (May 17, 2008)

great Pics....!!


----------



## Soren (May 17, 2008)

Good pics Freebird, thanks for sharing


----------



## ccheese (May 17, 2008)

Good Pic's, Neil..

BTW, Alex, I like that siggy ! (Shame it don't have a single tail !)

Charles


----------



## rochie (May 18, 2008)

hey hienz cpt james cook was born in great ayton just a couple of miles from where i live


----------



## Heinz (May 18, 2008)

Cheers Charles. 

Interesting fact Rochie, added to the grey matter


----------



## rochie (May 18, 2008)

capt cook's monument


----------



## Wildcat (May 18, 2008)

Some that I can add.
First The Giant rocking horse at Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills, not far from where I live.
I also have pics of the big Koala that Hinze posted, I can't remember the name of the town.


----------



## Heinz (May 18, 2008)

Great shots Wildcat! Love the rocking horse 

The koala isn't far from me, I think.


----------



## Freebird (Jun 17, 2008)

I saw this big bird close to "Pelican Rapids" Minnesota, now I'm not an ornip... ornitho..... um... bird doctor, but this don't look like no Pelican to me?


----------



## Pisis (Jun 18, 2008)

Well, not really that there'd be a highway near (actually, there is one realy close!) but Prague has the largest horse statue in Europe. Statue of Jan Žižka.


----------



## Catch22 (Jun 18, 2008)

freebird said:


> I saw this big bird close to "Pelican Rapids" Minnesota, now I'm not an ornip... ornitho..... um... bird doctor, but this don't look like no Pelican to me?



I not a bird guy either, but my brother is, and just from exposure I'd have to guess that's a ruffed grouse, but it's surely not a pelican.

And now for a couple more.

First here's the Ukranian Egg in Vegreville, Alberta, not far from Edmonton.







And here's the Enterprise in Vulcan, Alberta.


----------



## Matt308 (Jun 18, 2008)

The Fremont Troll (north Seattle). Located under an overpass and feeding upon a Volkswagen beetle.


----------



## Matt308 (Jun 18, 2008)

Christ that's a huge picture. Sorry guys. I'll try and fix it.


----------



## Catch22 (Jun 18, 2008)

Yeah, mine's massive too, I'll get a different one as well.


----------



## Freebird (Jun 22, 2008)

The Big Bison, near Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada


----------



## seamist (Jun 27, 2008)

There is a thing that the welsh do,that is very similar.there is a modern group of people,who have created a thing called the eisteddfod,and claim it is an ancient druid thing that has been discovered and re-created as it originally was in the ancient past.the thing they do,is hold a big gathering,and built a fake stone circles all over wales,wherever the eisteddfod has taken place.the crafty thing is,as time goes by,and the eisteddfod event is forgotten,the local town/village folk,promote the stone circles as original ancient stone circles.
Here are a couple of pictures of a modern 1951 built stone circle in a town called llanrwst.I grew up in this area,and no one knew there had been an eisteddfod held there,only,that there was an ancient stone circle,built thousands of years ago by mysterious druids.
Here is a link to a wiki entry,that lists all welsh towns that have a fake modern stone circle,created for the eisteddfod meetings.

National Eisteddfod of Wales - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

These pics are of the llanrwst modern stone circle,which have recently been damaged by vandals.


----------



## Freebird (Jun 27, 2008)

seamist said:


> fake stone circles



Oh I almost forgot....

There is a replica "Stonehenge" on the Columbia River, near Goldendale Wa. 8)


----------

