World's Largest Popcorn Ball | Sac City, IA
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Every time I give a presentation about my book, Secret Iowa: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, someone invariably asks the same question: what’s the weirdest thing in the book? While there are 84 unusual attractions to choose from, one of my favorites is the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball.
Much like the World’s Largest Cheeto, this big ball is made from (you guessed it) real, edible popcorn. It’s a feat that’s both impressive and a little bit gross, especially when you learn that the current titleholder has been sitting around for almost a decade.
Whatever your feelings about this sizable snack, the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball is a symbol of the community’s passion, and embodies what I love most about unusual roadside attractions.
This installment of World’s Largest Wednesday is dedicated to Shirley Phillips, a long-time champion of western Iowa tourism and the mastermind behind the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball.
I was deeply saddened to learn that Shirley passed away late last year at the age of 75. Years and years ago when I first started blogging, I reached out to Shirley with questions about the popcorn ball. Not only was she incredibly generous with her time but her shared enthusiasm for these types of unusual attractions encouraged me to continue sharing their stories. I’ll forever be grateful for her friendship, encouragement and love of this ridiculous popcorn ball.
Fast Facts
Created: June 2016
Diameter: 12 feet
Weight: 9,370 pounds
Fun Fact: In order to qualify for the Guinness World Record, the popcorn ball must be edible and it must be created by hand.
The History of the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball
The first thing you need to know about the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball is that this is not the first giant popcorn ball the community of Sac City has created. In fact, it’s not even the second or third. No, this monstrous tribute to the local popcorn industry is actually the fourth World’s Largest Popcorn Ball the community has created.
So, how did this sticky saga come to be? Well, in 1995, the town’s tourism director, Shirley Phillips, had the idea to create a community project that would honor Sac City’s thriving popcorn industry. In April of that year, residents came together to create the community’s first World’s Largest Popcorn Ball. The first popcorn ball weighed 2,225 pound and traveled around the state — appearing in countless parades and even a Boy Scout Jamboree. Afterward, it returned to the Noble Popcorn plant based in Sac City where visitors would often stop by and request to see it.
“After a couple years, they needed to get rid of it,” Phillips told me during an interview in 2013. The popcorn ball, which needed to be edible to qualify for the world record, had started to grow mold.
Once again local organizers concocted a plan. This time they decided to dispose of the ball in just as sticky a spectacle as when it was created. During the Sac County Fair in August of 1997, organizers loaded the popcorn ball with seven sticks of dynamite with a crowd of nearly 2,000 filling the grandstand, a safe distance away from any potential popcorn debris.
But when the moment of truth came? It wasn’t quite the exhilarating rain of popcorn Phillips or any of the other organizers had expected.1 “They threw the plunger and the inside of the ball was still so sticky that it flew into the air, fell down and broke apart into chunks,” she said.2
By the time the first popcorn ball was destroyed, Sac City’s record had already been bested. A group of Boy Scouts in La Crosse, Wisconsin had crafted a 2,377-pound ball, narrowly edging out Sac City’s attempt.
So, in June of 2004, more than 40 volunteers gathered once again at the Noble Popcorn Company. They spent seven hours and 13 minutes constructing a 3,100-pound ball of popcorn that stood seven feet tall. Like its predecessor, the second ball of popcorn lasted for a few years before it was transported to the Sac County Fairgrounds and used as feed for the animals. In 2006, an Illinois popcorn factory crafted a 3,423-pound ball, dethroning Sac City as the “world’s largest” title holder once again.
Five years later, the people of Sac City were ready to make another attempt at the record. So on February 28, 2009, more than 253 volunteers spent 12 hours and 40 minutes creating the community’s third World’s Largest Popcorn Ball. When all was said and done, the ball reached a towering eight feet, four inches tall with a circumference of 28.8 feet. To verify the 5,000-pound behemoth’s weight, the Iowa Department of Transportation brought in scales typically used at truck weigh stations.
Unlike its predecessors, this World’s Largest Popcorn Ball remained on public display until spring of 2016. The wacky attraction was located in a tiny red shed on the grounds of Sac City’s Museum Village, just across from the Casey’s on Highway 20. That popcorn ball lasted more than seven years, delighting locals and tourists alike. Over the years, excited visitors have taken their wedding photos, posed with their RAGBRAI teams and snapped selfies with the giant ball of popcorn.3
But, of course, it wasn’t long until Sac City’s record was challenged once again. In 2013, the Indiana State Fair built a 6,510-pound ball of popcorn to celebrate “The Year of Popcorn.” However, Indiana destroyed their ball immediately after its completion.
Still, Sac City wanted to try to reclaim their world record one last time. In April of 2016 the city attempted to remove the existing ball. “As we went to remove it from the building, the guys thought they could just take a chainsaw and cut into it,” Phillips told me in 2013. But that didn’t work out as well as they’d planned. After all that time, the giant popcorn ball was still gooey on the inside. Eventually, the fire department had to use the Jaws of Life to pull the ball apart and carry it off to the dump. “Getting rid of them is just as hard as making them,” Phillips joked at the time.
On June 18, 2016, Sac City created its fourth World’s Largest Popcorn Ball. The hope? That this ball would be too large to ever be challenged again. Volunteers used a plastic form created by Lundell Plastics as a cradle to support the popcorn during its construction. The completed ball weighs a whopping 9,370 pounds and stands at more than eight feet tall.
Almost nine years later, the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball remains in Sac City. As of now, it seems safe to say that the community is holding onto its record and popcorn-producing legacy.
Plan Your Visit
If you’re passing through Sac City, you quite literally can’t miss the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball. Located along Highway 20 as it runs through town, this big ball is a part of the Sac City Museum & Historic Village complex.
You’ll find the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball in an oversized shed with plexiglass windows that allow for viewing any time of the day or night, rain or shine (or snow). While you can visit the popcorn ball 24/7, the Sac City Museum is open Saturdays and Sundays between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Address: World’s Largest Popcorn Ball, 1300 W. Main St., Sac City, IA 50583
Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of this momentous occasion to share with you. But how I wish I did.
This is truly one of my favorite stories about Sac City’s commitment to the popcorn ball, and it makes me smile every single time I tell it.
The 2009 version of the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball is also the first one I ever visited in person.