A GOOD DAY FOR TRIVIA!

On a Monday morning in March, with the winds swirling about and the snows seemingly unending, it was a good day for trivia, I discovered.  My eight-year old grandson slowly pulled me out of my trance and disgust for winter.  He came downstairs for breakfast bright and early and started reading the rather unusual trivia book I had bought him at a thrift store a week earlier.  He was sharing and enjoying all the odd questions and quizzing me on the answers. It was an obvious enjoyment for him, but not as much for me, until he came to the question about twine. Of course he pulled in the Minnesota connection as well. He asked me how much the largest ball of twine weighed, where it was made, and who made it.  Well, here’s the scoop!

THE GAZEBO THAT HOUSES THE BALL OF TWINE AND THE MAILBOX WITH THE GUESTBOOK

 

A man by the name of Francis A. Johnson from the town of Darwin, Minnesota (population of less than 300) started rolling the twine in his basement in 1950, every day for four hours over the course of 29 years. I thought about that in absolute amazement.  How could you devote that much of your life to a ball of twine?  What was it that drove him?  Well, if you’d drive to Darwin, Minnesota in August you’d probably learn a whole lot more about Francis Johnson since there’s a museum in Darwin that tells about him and that ball of twine.  Every year there’s “Twine Ball Day” and you can learn the history of the ball.  There’s even a gift shop devoted to that enormous ball of twine that’s housed in a gazebo to protect it—all 7,900 kg (17,400 pounds), which is the largest ball of twine rolled by an individual.  Francis died in 1979, but his amazing invention made his town proud.  There’s a sign on the outskirts of town that declares, “Darwin, Home of the Ball of Twine.”  There’s even a mailbox with a guestbook you can sign.  All very interesting and trusting!  Weird Al Yankovic at one time drove across America to see it and write a song about it. Maybe later this year in August I’ll make the trek to pay tribute to Francis Johnson and his ball of twine.  What’s interesting is that recently I started reading a book I picked up at a thrift store called SPIRITUAL LITERACY—READING THE SACRED IN EVERYDAY LIFE.  One chapter deals with the importance of different THINGS in our lives, regardless of what they might be.  For me they’re special antiques and keepsakes left behind by my ancestors and housed in my room.  They might not have great meaning for others, but for me they’re a special joy.  I often look at them and feel happy to just have them near me.  As strange as it may sound, I believe that Francis Johnson took special delight in creating that unusual ball of twine and presenting it to his town.  I admire that, perhaps even more so because it was my grandson who shared some of the information with me and the SPIRITUAL LITERACY book made me view the whole idea from a completely different perspective.  And as it turned out, it was indeed a good day for trivia, one I hadn’t expected.