World's Largest Ball of String

Most museums add their biggest exhibit last. At Ripley's Believe It or Not! in Branson, the ball of twine came first. The Branson Globe reported in 2024 that the ball, almost fourteen feet high, was the first piece to arrive when the building was under construction in late 1993, and Mental Floss wrote in 2025 that Ripley's "literally built their Branson museum around it."

Its maker was J.C. Payne, described by Minnesota Bucket List as a retired mason living in Valley View, Texas. Largest.org says he collected nylon twine from 1987 to 1991 and gives the finished ball as 41.5 feet in circumference and 12,000 pounds. Mental Floss gives its height as 13 feet and says Payne set out to take the solo-rolled title from Francis Johnson of Darwin, Minnesota, whose ball Guinness had certified in 1979.