A town betting on pop art

Big things are happening in little Casey, Ill., said Valerie Schremp Hahn in the St. Louis PostDispatch. Since 2011, the town of 2,700 has welcomed into its midst a dozen of the world’s largest everyday objects, including the most prodigious pencil, birdcage, wind chime, and rocking chair. Jim Bolin, 54, has been the mastermind behind the publicity bids, able to draw on the resources of his family’s pipeline maintenance business to realize his visions, including a 26-foot replica of the key to his Chevy pickup. Officials from Guinness World Records recently visited Casey to measure its latest record breakers, and a certification ceremony was held atop an 82-footlong seesaw. As Bolin had hoped, such attractions have revitalized Casey’s Main Street, where many businesses now cater to visitors who stop for photos while traveling between St. Louis and Indianapolis. And Bolin isn’t done. Next up: the world’s largest mousetrap and boomerang.