One Weird Wisconsin Attraction Most Residents Don’t Know Exists

Just when I thought I knew every wacky thing there is to know about Wisconsin I find out that the state is home to the World's largest potato masher, and I can't help but wonder why.

Things People Know About Wisconsin

The way I see it there are a few things everybody knows about Wisconsin;

1. It is home to the Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers.
2. Wisconsin REALLY loves its cheese and beer.
3. It has a lot of cool lakes to visit.
4. True Wisconsinites hate Illinoisans.

There are also a few things most people don't know about Wisconsin;

1. The first kindergarten classes were held in Wisconsin.
2. Barbie is from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin.
3. Selling margarine in Wisconsin was banned for 72 years.
4. Wisconsin is the birthplace of the ice cream sundae.

And then there is one thing many Wisconsin residents don't even know about their home state; that it is home to the World's largest potato masher.

Yes, I said potato masher.

The World's Largest Potato Masher

Located in Plover, Wisconsin, the world's largest potato masher "sits in front of the Food + Farm Exploration Center...The iconic symbol represents the fun exploration waiting inside and outside at the Center, honoring the agriculture industry, growers, innovators, and consumers" according to Travel Wisconsin.

When we are up at my family's cabin in Wisconsin, we often go to Plover to do some shopping, (mostly Menards, lol), and I have never seen a sign or any information about going to visit the World's Largest Potato Masher, which is disappointing.

The Higher Purpose of Wisconsin's Potato Masher

If you're wondering just how big this potato masher actually is and why it's there, I can tell you it stands 39 feet tall and weighs 3 tons, but the purpose it serves is much bigger than that.

The true purpose of this massive potato masher is to call attention to the new Food + Farm Exploration Center that it sits in front of. According to the Wisconsin State Journal;

The $41 million nonprofit facility includes an interactive children's museum with its own kid-size play grocery store, interactive exhibits, tractor simulators and a massive tech center that showcases a rotating lineup of farm machinery.

Basically, the facility's main goal is to educate kids and families about how and where the food we eat comes from in a fun way. It also features a huge event space that hosts cooking classes, tastings, etc., and there's even a café serving up locally grown food.

I guess the moral of the story is this; I never thought I would learn that a 3 ton potato masher exists in this world, but now that I know, I totally want to take a picture with it...and take my kids to the Food + Farm Exploration Center while we're there.