Pin Pal

Previously:

World's Largest Kaleidoscope  - -  World's Largest Jackrabbit 

If there are to be various World's Largest things then surely they would feel right at home in Texas.  While, I've so far been able to stop myself from beginning a blog entry with the phrase, "They say everything is bigger in Texas," it's getting harder and harder with the amount of great big stuff that populates the Lone Star state.  And with that, we head inside Pinballz Kingdom in Buda, TX to check out another great big thingamajig.

Now it's always tricky when you get into the "World's Largest" this and the "World's Largest" that.  Caveats tend to abound.  Many people play it safe by claiming they have the largest thing in the state or the country or they can even get cute and claim to have the second largest such-and-such.  But when signage is involved, you know they mean business:

There's a lot of great pinball machines out there but there's only one that can claim to be the "World's Largest."  OK, so these were commercially produced so there's technically more than one of them out there but I this is the one in Central Texas.  Behold...the "Hercules":

The place is full of tons of retro (and newish) pinball and arcade games but this one is the arcade's pride and joy and is positioned right in the center of the action.  In the interest of full disclosure, the Folks at Guinness claim that this machine in Italy is the real World's Largest but that location probably doesn't have the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game like Pinballz does so I'll head to Buda the next time I want to sink some quarters.

When World's Kaleid

The great thing about the "World's Largest" things is that they typically are NOT the world's largest.  But it's not about the size, it's about the chutzpah of deciding to claim that this particular object is the biggest in the world without actually confirming it.  There's nothing more Texan than that.  So with that, we present the "World's Largest Kaleidoscope" in Dallas:

We need not mention what may or may not be in Mount Tremper, NY, and instead we check in at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.  The hospital is designed from top to bottom to be appealing to kids.  From fresh popped popcorn to elaborate train sets, there is plenty of distractions for sick kiddos.  Not the least of which is the "World's Largest Kaleidoscope" which come complete with a plaque that says so:

Take note of the ever important caveat that this is in fact a "Leaded Stained Glass Kaleidoscope" which lends legitimacy to the "World's Largest" claim.  These are the types of details that are important when making claims about an object's place in the world.

All it takes is a push of the very pushable Big Red Button on the left and the show begins.  Nothing left to do but sit back, watch and let the meds kick in.

    

The still pics don't really do it justice since, you know...it's kaleidoscope...and it moves but that's all you get today.  And if you're wondering if there is more of a Texas angle than just location then check out the Texified stained glass:

Starting at the top and going clockwise, we've got the state of Texas, a longhorn, a cowboy hat, a space shuttle and a group of oil derricks...not to mention the big Lone Star.  That's more than enough to qualify as an interesting bit of Texana.