World’s Largest Rubber Band Ball
Categorized under Ripley Warehouse
Posted by Otelo
ORLANDO, Fla. – (Oct. 19, 2009) – Having a ball at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has taken on a whole new meaning – the company has acquired the world’s largest rubber band ball. Standing more than 6 feet tall it weighs close to 10,000 pounds!
Record-breaking ball is more than 6 feet tall, weighs nearly five tons!
In order to move the ball from Lauderhill, Florida where it was created to the company headquarters in Orlando, Ripley’s has had to hire a crane (one at each end of the journey), a flatbed truck and a transportation team. The move is scheduled for Thursday, October 29.
The orb was created by Joel Waul, a 28-year-old clothing store worker who lives in Lauderhill, near Ft. Lauderdale.
It all started for Waul’s ball on April 10, 2004, as he watched an episode of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! TV show on which a rubber band ball was dropped out of an airplane. He decided on the spot that he wanted to create the world’s largest rubber band ball. He began creating the ball that day with rubber bands he found around the house.
Eventually, Waul used more than 720,000 rubber bands to create the ball, which he named “Megaton.” He scoured discount stores and e-bay for rubber bands to add to his creation during the early years. As it grew, he turned to sponsors for the giant industrial rubber bands needed to stretch around the bulging ball.
As it grew, the ball was moved from inside Waul’s house to the garage and eventually to the driveway where it soon became a neighborhood landmark. In 2008 Waul shattered the world record for the biggest rubber band ball.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! officials have had their eye on the ball for more than a year and a photo of it is currently being featured in Ripley’s newest book, Seeing is Believing. It will eventually go on display in one of the company’s worldwide museums.
The Ball by the Numbers:
Number of rubber bands: 720,000+
Weight: 9,032 pounds when last weighed. About 400 pounds of bands have been added since then.
Circumference: 25 feet, 4 inches
Height: 6 feet, 7 inches
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damnnnnnnnnnnn.thats huge
yup call my uncle’s office 4 more
That’s what she said!
Hell yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi sulaymaan
bye
I bet he stole it! You liar. Better call ur solicitors. I’m taking u 2 court!!!
dame he must put alot work
hi sulaymaan
big whoop it is a big ball of ruberbands
I so wanna meet this dude!
dammmn dats a biq stupid ball of rubber bands i bet dat took 4eva 2 put all 2qether!!!! dats huqe dude
this guy is sick!!!!!
This is silly.
WTF!!!!!!!!!!!
Man not very many people have anything good to say but which makes me wonder, but I think its cool.
“HAHAHA GOOD LUCK GETTING IT BIGGER”
how cool! But how can the rubber bands stretch so far though??
becouse its a rubber band made to streach, u big dummy
damn that ball is big as h*** is it bouncy it is huge i made one the size of my dresser two feet tall but i moved it to my basement i qui working on it cause the rubber bands was popping:]
hell yea! I like it. My boyfriend, my roommate and I are makin one now just for fun.