Iowa Is Home To Some Of The Weirdest "World’s Largest"

If you ask anyone, they’ll tell you that Iowa is known for corn, farms, and more corn. But, what you might not know is that Iowa is home to some of the world’s largest attractions. Some of them are bizarrely random but all are most definitely worth visiting!

1. World’s Largest Strawberry

Located in the appropriately named Strawberry Point, Iowa, this fiberglass strawberry sculpture was created in the 1960’s and measures 15 feet tall and 12 feet wide! Strawberry Point was founded in 1853 and according to their official website, was “named by the soldiers, traders, and railroad workers who enjoyed the bountiful wild strawberries found along the area’s trails and hillsides.”

2. World’s Largest Swedish Coffee Pot

Located in Stanton, Iowa, this humongous coffee pot was once the town’s water tower. Holding over 50,000 gallons of water, this would be a caffeine addicts paradise if it were full of coffee. It was created as a tribute local Virginia Christine who portrayed “Mrs. Olson”, the kind hearted Swedish mother from Folgers Coffee commercials.

3. World’s Largest Popcorn Ball

Sac City is home to the world’s largest popcorn ball which weighs in at nearly 10,000 pounds which is an insane amount of buttery goodness. Sac City definitely gets bragging rights in corn country. Inspired by Noble Popcorn Plant, an infamous company that helped Sac County gain reputation as the “Popcorn Capital of the World”, this attraction draws crowds from all over.

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4. World’s Largest Concrete Gnome

Ames, Iowa is home of Elwood, the 15 foot tall concrete gnome. Elwood was almost beaten by an 18 foot gnome sculpture in Poland, but luckily the European competitor was constructed of fiberglass while Elwood was made of concrete. Therefore, Elwood was still able to be named the world’s largest CONCRETE gnome. Elwood was made by artists Andy and Connie Kautza to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2010.

5. World's Largest Truckstop

This is perhaps the best known one, The Iowa 80 Truckstop. It is now considered the World’s Largest Truckstop. It was established in1964. "Not far from the Mississippi River, adjacent to the small town of Walcott."

6. World’s Largest Bull

A major favorite for many. This bull is located in Audubon Iowa, this bull stands 30-feet tall! He was built in 1963 and weighs 45 tons! They gave him the name Albert the Bull.

Some other "worlds largest" things in Iowa include: "THE WORLD’S LARGEST CHEETO," "WORLD’S LARGEST MANMADE GROTTO," "WORLD’S LARGEST WOODEN NICKEL," and "WORLD’S LARGEST POCAHONTAS."

Wow those are some random large things to be the home of! Have you been to any of these spots? Which one is your favorite?

10 Iowa Towns That Are Hard To Pronounce

Words are hard sometimes. Names of towns that seem obvious can also be a little tricky. Here are 10 towns in Iowa that are hard to pronounce.

Iowa's Island City

There is something unique about every town, but there is really something special about Sabula, IA. Known as "Iowa's Island City," Sabula is the only town in the state of Iowa that is entirely on an island. While not a lot of people have been to, or live in Sabula, it is a quaint little town nestled right on the Mississippi River.

Before we show you around "Iowa's Island City," let me give you the history of Sabula. Sabula was established in 1835, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis. Isaac Dorman and a man named Hinkley crossed the river from the Illinois side on a log and decided to settle on what is now Sabula. An Ohio couple, James and Margaret Woods would settle on Sabula about a year later in April of 1836. Their son, Dr. E. A. Woods would purchase Hinkley's interest in the claim. Charles Swan and W. H. Brown would soon purchase Dorman's interest. The three men, Woods, Swan and Brown later had the land plotted in 1837.

The idea behind plotting the land was because there was no town between Lyons (north Clinton) and Bellevue. The plot of the new town was recorded in Dubuque as this area was part of Dubuque county at the time, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

According to Island City Harbor's website, Sabula went through a few names before landing on the official town name. In 1837, Sabula was first called Carrollport. Residents of the town didn't like the name because there was a man's name who was Carroll who had a bad reputation. The town changed its name to Charleston, after early settler Charles Swan. The only issue was that there was already a town called Charleston in Iowa which caused much confusion.

In 1846 the settler’s decided to find a name. Island City Harbor's website says that because of it’s sandy soil, William Hubble suggested the town be called "Sabulum" which is Latin for sand. A party was being held around the time the town name was being discussed, when a woman, supposed to be Miss Harriet Hudson, suggested the town be called Sabula as it was easier to pronounce and sounded more elegant, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

Sabula did not actually become an island until 1939. According to Wikipedia, in the 1930's, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the lock and dam system. In 1939, Lock and Dam No. 13 between Clinton, IA and Fulton, IL was built which caused the bottomlands west of the town permanently flooded. With the Mississippi River east of the town, this created the "Island City." A levee was built around Sabula in 1957 for protection, according to Island City Harbor's website. This also allowed for the south sand pit to be turned into a boat harbor.

I would like to thank my mom Beth, her fiancé Matt, my brother Nolan and my wife Ellie for accompanying me to Sabula. We always have a blast on our trips and this one was no exception.

It's now time to introduce you to Sabula, Iowa, Iowa's Island City.