World's Largest Watermelon Slice

Muscatine, Iowa

Muscatine has always been proud of its watermelons (and cantilopes), grown in its produce-friendly sandy soil. But the city was hopelessly melon-headed when it came to roadside promotion. This left the field open to be planted by other watermelon communities -- until now. The Muscatine chamber of commerce finally spread some fertilizer from its members; the result, in 3-D painted steel, is the World's Largest Watermelon Slice.

Erected in September 2023 in a prominent, tourist-friendly spot next to US Highway 61, the whopper slice balances on its rind and eclipses all earlier rivals in size and mass: 40 feet long and 16 feet high, weighing eight tons (A complete watermelon this huge would be similar in scale to a nuclear submarine). "Muscatine: World's Finest Melons" is written on one side of the slice, and lit by spotlights at night.