Mr. Bendo (Ralph's Muffler)

Mr. Bendo is a rarity among roadside giants: one of fewer than ten Bendo-branded Muffler Men that Jalopnik says remain, and one that was badly damaged in a hit-and-run in March 2026. Muffler Men are fibreglass figures first cast in California in the 1960s from a mould that began as a Paul Bunyan, with the lumberjack's axe swapped for something that suited the buyer's trade. Indianapolis Monthly says the shop's founder bought this one from a Texas business in 1965 for $1,600. The Indianapolis Star adds that it arrived in four pieces, and that the name comes from a machine that bends exhaust pipe. Jalopnik describes the Bendo version as having "Mr. Bendo" branding on the chest, arms made to hold an exhaust pipe and a full head of hair, and reports that fewer than ten remain. The pipe itself is gone: Indianapolis Monthly says the iron bar he first held disappeared at some point nobody recalls. Early on 22 March 2026 a vehicle struck the statue outside the shop on West 16th Street. The Indianapolis Star reported the crash took out his right leg; Indianapolis Monthly described a lost shoe and a mangled internal frame. Staff first held him up with cables, but by July the damage was judged too severe for him to keep standing. 13News reported that the upper half was briefly taken on 9 July by someone who thought it was being thrown away, and it was returned the next day. The owner told 13News repairs would take about a month and cost $20,000. Accounts differ on size and on where the work is being done: the Star gives 18 feet, Indianapolis Monthly roughly 20 and Jalopnik 27; the Star said Virginia, while Indianapolis Monthly reported in September that he was in Tennessee. Ask the shop whether he is back before making a special trip.