Two NJ sites make list of ‘largest roadside attractions’

We’re not too proud to claim our kitsch in New Jersey; when it comes to tacky attractions, we have our share.

A software company called Batch Geo mapped out all the largest roadside attractions in the US, and New Jersey is home to two of them. By the way, each of the attractions refers to itself as the “largest _____”, which doesn’t mean they are right. But, that’s the way they bill themselves. (There are three towns which claim to have the world’s largest strawberry).

Here are categories of attractions:

⚫ Animals: fish, buffalo, and larger than life dinosaurs

⚫ Things: thermometer, chairs, and the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota

⚫ Foods: artichoke, peanut, and a really big ketchup bottle

⚫ Places: water towers, truck stops, and the World’s Largest Collection of World’s Smallest Versions of World’s Largest

⚫ People: Abe Lincoln, Paul Bunyan, and the giantest Jolly Green Giant

⚫ Plants: a catchall for trees, vines, and stumps

By now, you’ve probably guessed at least one of the New Jersey attractions on the list, and I’m assuming it’s Lucy the Elephant in Margate, the world’s largest elephant. Lucy is six stories high and is a National Landmark.

The other attraction is one I wasn’t familiar with: the world’s largest water tower in Union. According to NorthJersey.com, it is more accurately described as the World’s Largest Water Sphere. It was built in 1964 and is 212 feet high.

California and Ohio both boast 14 of the world’s largest things, while Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, and Illinois have 11.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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