An odd sight on the Greenway trail in Jefferson City has been drawing quizzical looks from visitors to and residents of Missouri’s capital for more than two years. Standing seven feet tall seven feet wide, this giant pacifier was made from about 35,000 cigarette butts and artist Christine Holtz aptly named it “The Adult Pacifier.”
The Adult Pacifier is one of dozens of rather odd, yet interesting and entertaining sights to be found along the back roads and byways of Missouri. Most have a story and a purpose, but some just leave travelers scratching their heads and creating their own stories about why and how these sights came to be.
The Adult Pacifier has recently moved to a new home along Highway 179 between Jefferson City and Jamestown. Located outside the Atelier-CMS Gallery, the pacifier is joined by a rather large turkey vulture and other pieces of contemporary art created intentionally to make people talk and think.
There’s a big rocking chair on Old Route 66 just southwest of Cuba Missouri. Owner Dan Sanazaro built it to have a little fun and draw customers to his US 66 Outpost and General Store. The chair weighs 27,500 pounds, is 42 feet tall and 20 feet wide. Of course, everyone wants to climb up in it and have their pictures made, so Sanazaro takes advantage of that curiosity by creating a fundraiser for the local volunteer fire department each August. For $5 per person, the fire department will give visitors a lift to the top.
 
 
Community pride and history explain the water tower that looks like an 8-Ball in Tipton, a town of 3200 residents on Highway 50 between Jefferson City and Sedalia. It’s been drawing curious looks from passersby for more than 40 years, although the reason for its existence, a company that made billiard tables, left Tipton in the 1980s.
The gifts of Mother Nature are the reason behind the big goose in the Sumner Community Park. The nearby Swan Lake Wildlife Refuge helps bring nearly a million geese through this area of north central Missouri each migration season, making Sumner the unofficial Wild Goose Capital of the World. The bird stands 40 feet tall, weighs three tons and has a wingspan of 61 feet. Her name is Maxie, an abbreviation of its Latin name, and she is the hostess of the Wild Goose Festival each October.
Frog Rock at Waynesville, officially known as W.H. Croaker, is a result of some blasting to widen Route 66 in the 1990s. This odd shaped rock remained, so a local tattoo artist helped Mother Nature along, using chisels and dye to bring this frog to life. The city now hosts a Frog Festival each May to honor W.H. Croaker. The W. H. stands for Wayne’s Hill, FYI.
For those who get hungry on their travels through Missouri, there’s a giant concrete pecan near Brunswick, because of the many pecan farms in the area. In Springfield, there’s a big plastic cup at the entrance to the Sweetheart Cup Company, and don’t forget the three-story-tall stainless steel fork in the Chesterfield Village Shopping Center.
The Lake of the Ozarks area has a number of oddities, but one that remains a mystery is on the west side of Highway 5 to State Road 135-3. It’s a shoe fence with dozens of shoes of all shapes, styles, and colors on the fence post. Each year it grows and changes as new shoes are added.
In the same vicinity is the Cup Tree. Some believe that there was once a natural spring here and people left their cups and mugs for other travelers. While not necessarily sanitary, its intent was quite hospitable and quite colorful with cups and mugs of all colors and sizes dancing in the breeze.
These are just a few of the interesting landmarks you may encounter on your drives in Missouri. For more odd sights to see, or to get a free copy of the 2009 Official Missouri Vacation Planner, log on to www.VisitMo.com or call toll-free 800-519-4800.
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