Animal attractions keep motorists gawking
By Mike Fink
CNN Headline News
(CNN) -- I don't want to alarm anyone, but gigantic animals are invading the nation. Hundreds of enormous beasts-turned-advertisements are stalking the nation's highways and byways, and they're beaconing travelers to enter gift shops, restaurants and other destinations.
I begin in my own back yard. In Atlanta, Georgia, a massive fish lures patrons into one of the area's finer seafood restaurants in Buckhead, the city's most posh neighborhood. This fish out of water stands 65 feet high and looks like it's leaping toward the heavens, perhaps trying to escape the frying pan.
Apparently, Atlantans like to see enormous replicas of what they are digesting. In neighboring Marietta, a 100-foot chicken roosts atop a Kentucky Fried Chicken at a major intersection.
The so-called "Big Chicken" is such a significant structure that locals use it as a directional landmark (as in "turn left at the Big Chicken").
The Big Chicken isn't the only oversize poultry east of the Mississippi. "The Big Duck" is a well-known landmark on Long Island. The 20-foot-high duck in Flanders, New York, is a tourist information center for the area. It sits prominently near the road, mesmerizing passing motorists, enticing them to waddle in and purchase duck souvenirs. This duck is here to stay for a while due to a recent historic preservation project. Incidentally, a "quack-off" is held at the duck every year.
The first swarm of Africanized killer bees in the United States was documented in 1990 in Hidalgo, Texas. The town took note by building "the world's largest killer bee." Let's hope that the sculpture, which stands in front of the public library, isn't too intimidating for the children of Hidalgo.
In the middle of nowhere in North Dakota stands the world's largest grasshopper and group of birds. They're part of a 32-mile stretch of scenic prairie land near Regent known as the "Enchanted Highway." The group of big birds includes a 60-foot-long rooster, a 50-foot-long hen and three 12-foot-high chicks. And if that's not enough for you, there's also a 75-foot buck alongside a 50-foot doe.
Animals also are taking over municipal bridges. Take for example the Thread City Crossing in Willimantic, Connecticut, where four large frogs squat. The 11-foot frogs stand at both ends of the bridge, and they look pretty angry. Local legend explains that during the drought-stricken year of 1754, residents woke up one morning to find scores of dead frogs. Apparently, frogs engaged in a massive fight over the last remaining puddles during the drought.
Then there's a pedestrian bridge in Tucson, Arizona, that looks like a 280-foot rattlesnake. The bridge was built in 2002 to provide a safe route for bicyclists and pedestrians, but apparently city fathers don't know the dangers of rattlesnakes. If you're brave enough to go in, the snake's "eyes" light up and its tail rattles when you exit.
The nation's roads are a virtual zoo of these towering animals. Are they really a threat or a problem? Probably not. As long as they keep any giant cats away from the big fish, and any kind of rattlesnake, no matter what size, away from me.
