Several columns ago we featured a site for the largest rubber band ball in the world. It was huge, and best of all, the site gave you instructions on how to do-it-yourself. I thought I had seen everything. And I had, until I came across today’s Web site. This one takes the saying “gotta get a life” to a new extreme.

The site, Ball of Paint, is by Mike Carmichael and his wife Glenda, who live in Alexandria, Indiana. Now, imagine an ordinary baseball… Now imagine that same baseball with over 19,100 coats of paint on it. Getting the picture? Good, because that’s exactly what they have done for the past 28 1/2 years. Now what was once an ordinary baseball that weighed less than one pound now weighs in around 1,700 pounds (oh, and it’s not white anymore).

This is not Mike’s first attempt at this. He did his first one while in high school back in the 1960s, when he accidentally upset a gallon of paint while playing catch with a friend. one thing led to another, and 1000 coats of paint later, he had enough and gave it to his instructor. So in 1977, he started again, and with his wife and family’s help, he now has the only roadside attraction in Alexandria.

If you go on vacation this year, and if you happen to drive through Indiana, and if you just so happen to go through Alexandria, look up Mike and Glenda, and tell them that you saw their ball of paint here. Maybe they’ll even let you add a few strokes to it.

Tags: warp-o-meter, warped.info, ball of paint, mike carmichael, glenda carmichael, baseball in paint, alexandria, roadside attraction