Wander Minnesota: More Than Just A Ball of Twine

If you've been in Minnesota for any length of time, surely you've heard of the giant ball of twine in Darwin. While there are various contenders for the title of "largest twine ball" in the U.S., the one in Darwin is generally considered to be the largest ever wound by one person.

It's probably safe to say none of the other giant twine balls have been immortalized in song by none other than Weird Al Yankovic:

Weird Al even visited the twine ball in person, back on Aug. 16, 1996.

The Darwin twine ball was the work of one man, Francis Johnson, son of Minnesota Congressman Magnus Johnson. He started in 1950 and spent nearly every day for the next 29 years winding twine.

It weighs more than 17,000 pounds and has about a 40-foot circumference. During the years it took to wind it, Johnson had to use railroad jacks, originally used for lifting boxcars, to move the twine ball.

Today the twine ball resides in a glass gazebo right outside the Twine Ball Museum, which documents not only the creation of and reaction to the twine ball itself, but other memorable parts of Darwin history — and another, less-heralded accomplishment of Francis Johnson's.

At some point, someone taught Johnson how to carve a pair of pliers out of wood, pliers that would open and close without splitting the wood. In his retirement, he took to plier creation the way he'd earlier taken to twine-ball winding. He was struck with the idea of not just carving pliers from wood, but carving larger pliers, then carving smaller pliers into the handles of the larger piece.

Each success led to the creation of an even larger pliers with more pliers carved within it. The Darwin museum has one on display, a mind-bending piece that's seven feet long and has dozens of smaller pliers carved into it.

So: Go see the giant ball of twine, but stop in the museum to see this other marvel of ingenuity.

What else is happening in our state? Be sure to check out the 10 p.m. Sunday night WCCO newscasts, where you can learn more in the weekly segment, Finding Minnesota.