Route 66 Astronaut

Weatherford, Oklahoma

At 30 feet tall, the faceless, helmeted silver astronaut in downtown Weatherford is meant to add oomph to its claim to be the "Space City of Oklahoma" and to encourage Route 66 travelers to stop. The astronaut, with a NASA patch and Route 66 shield sign on its suit, towers over adjacent buildings and stands in the town's Centennial Park in front of a mural: "Discover our space; land yourself here."

The local Weatherford Daily News dismissively called it a "'Muffler Man' spaceman" to which the Chamber of Commerce responded, "The astronaut statue isn't just a 'Muffler Man'... it's a symbol of ambition, exploration, and our community's drive to reach for the stars"

Note: the statue isn't a Muffler Man at all. No worries, the Weatherford Daily News seems to have scant resources to accurately catalog alien lifeforms.

The arrival of the astronaut meant the destruction of the park gazebo, which upset some of the community, although the town's buried centennial time capsule remained undisturbed and Weatherford plans to open it on August 6, 2098.