Austin, Minnesota is the home to the Hormel Foods Corporation, the company that has been manufacturing SPAM since 1937. Also in Austin is the SPAM Museum. This 16,500 square foot museum contains artifacts that help tell the history of the company and offer interesting bits of information, such as SPAM's important involvement in World War II. Activities are also found in the museum, such as canning your own SPAM, which may be particularly fun for kids. The museum is free and group tours are offered.
The Runestone Museum in Alexandria, Minnesota is home to a local legend and controversy. The story is that the stone, covered in etched runes, was found in Kensington, Minnesota in 1898. Supposedly, it dates back to 1362 and has some believing it is evidence of a Viking settlement. Others believe it is a hoax. Either way, it makes for one of the stranger attractions in the state. Whether or not the runestone is real, the museum does have much to offer. Exhibits include a look into the life of pioneers in the area during the late 1800s and early 1900s, around the time that settlers would have found the stone. A replica of an old stockyard has also been built and can be explored by visitors.
The World's Largest Ball of Twine (rolled by one man, that is) is one of the more infamous of Minnesota's weird attractions, having been mentioned in a song by Weird Al as well as hinted at in the film Drop Dead Gorgeous. Francis A. Johnson is the man responsible for this roadside attraction in Darwin, Minnesota. He started building the ball in the 1950s and eventually created a circular shed to surround and protect it. It weighs over nine tons and has its own souvenir stand. The town of Darwin even has its own celebration, called Twine Days, held annually in August.
Ed's Museum, in Wyokff, Minnesota, is a testament to the pack rat in all of us. The man behind the museum, Ed Krieger, owned and operated a grocery store from which he showed old movies and displayed memorabilia. Today, the museum displays a collection of some of the things he kept around in storage. These include a number of memorabilia pieces from around the 1930s relating to film and the town he lived in. Other things are odder, such as Ed's gall stones and a preserved banana spider. The museum accepts donations and will give group tours that make a reservation ahead of time.
