The best record-breaking attraction to see in every state

While it's not the world's largest cave (that honor belongs to Hang Son Doong in Vietnam), Cathedral Caverns does boast the world's largest cave opening. The entryway into the cave is 126 feet wide and 25 feet tall.

There are multiple tours of the cave throughout the day, in addition to the many other activities in park, such as hiking and gemstone mining.

The Santa Claus House has been around since 1952, and sells Christmas memorabilia year-round. Visitors can also see Santa's reindeer, or write letters from the North Pole.

The 42-foot, 900-pound Santa Claus statue that stands outside the Santa Claus House in North Pole has been greeting visitors since the '80s. While two more were built, their whereabouts are unknown.

The tree officially covers 9,000 feet, and is so heavy that its branches must be held up with specially built trellises. Its trunk measures about 12 feet around.

The rose tree (also called a rose bush) blooms with Lady Banskia roses every spring. The Rose Tree Inn, where the tree was planted, has been converted into a private residence, but the patio and backyard remain open to the public.

Probably the state's largest orange, if not the country's, the Mammoth Orange (aka the Mammoth Orange Cafe) is actually a functioning diner.

It's been around since the '60s, and was inspired by another orange-shaped food stand in Fairmead, California. The Fairmead Orange has since closed, but the Redfield Orange remains open to this day.

The world's largest thermometer reaches 134 feet tall — a foot for every degree. It commemorates the highest temperature in the US (134 degrees), which occurred in the neighboring Death Valley.

The thermometer was closed for a time between 2012 and 2014 due to unpaid electric bills. The owner explained that the bill had reached $8,000 a month, and in the poor economy, it was wasn't feasible.

Thankfully, the thermometer was reopened in July 2014, and has stayed open ever since.

This giant beetle statue's name is Herkimer, and he's a West Indian Hercules Beetle. Herkimer stands proudly to direct drivers' attention towards the May Natural History Museum.

Herkimer was built in the '50s, briefly moved to Florida in the early '60s, and then returned to his Colorado home where he still stands today.

The May Natural History Museum is filled with scary, strange, and giant insects (though none as big as Herkimer).

Conny is a life-sized replica of a sperm whale, and clocks in at 60 feet in length.

Conny has been greeting visitors to the Connecticut Children's Museum for 40 years. In the summer time, he sprays water out of his blowhole.

This huge doctor's bag and stethoscope are appropriately located right outside the Apex Medical Center. The bag might not seem too large compared to other record-breaking attractions, but it does measure a respectable 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide.

Swampy, according to Roadside America, is 200 feet and one inch long, making him the largest alligator in the world.

Swampy is so large, in fact, that he contains the gift shop, ticket counter, and offices of the park he calls home: Jungle Adventures. Jungle Adventures contains multiple wildlife habitats, a Spanish Fort replica, and a "Jungle Swamp Cruise," among many other attractions.

There are many claims as to who has the world's largest peanut, and while Ashburn's actual peanut may not be the world's largest (it's not even Georgia's largest: 10 feet versus Plains, Georgia's, 12-foot-tall peanut), it is certainly the highest, perched on top of a 15-foot brick column, and thus called the Official State Peanut Monument of Georgia.

Ashburn is located within Turner County, whose largest and most important agricultural product is the peanut.

The Pineapple Garden Maze at the Dole Plantation was named the world's largest maze by Guinness in 2008 (though that distinction now goes to a maze in China). It consists of 14,000 plants spread out over two-and-a-half miles.

When you've conquered the maze, the Dole Plantation has many other activities and treats to offer, including everyone's favorite pineapple treat, the Dole Whip.

The world's largest potato crisp resides inside the Idaho Potato Museum. According to the museum, the crisp is 23" by 14.5," and was created by the Pringles Company in Jackson, Tennessee.

The Potato Museum is dedicated to teaching people about the process a potato goes through from planting to chip, and how the potato processing industry has changed over the years.

Many people believe that Metropolis is just the fictional home city of Clark Kent, aka Superman. However, the real city of Metropolis, Illinois, was made the official hometown of Superman in 1972.

The entire town has embraced its Superman connection, and nothing proves that more than the 15-foot-tall, two-ton bronze statue of Superman that watches over the city.

The Colgate Clock in Clarksville is the second-largest timepiece in the world — second only to the other Colgate Clock located in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The clock's face is so large that someone a mile away is able to tell the time on it — it has a diameter of 40 feet. The Colgate-Palmolive factory it stands upon has since closed, but the clock remains.

Legend has it that the frying pan in Brandon was supposed to become the world's largest frying pan, but when measured, it was 3 inches shy of the current record-holder in Washington. So the people of Iowa are content with the Brandon frying pan being Iowa's largest.

Atlas Obscura reported that the pan could cook "528 eggs or 88 pounds of bacon or 440 hamburgers" at one time, but it's never actually been used.

The easel itself stands 80 feet tall, but the true attraction is the giant replica of Van Gogh's painting "Three Sunflowers in a Vase." It's an appropriate choice: Kansas is nicknamed the "Sunflower State," and the city of Goodland is the center of the local sunflower industry.

However, the world's largest easel may just be the US' largest: The Goodland easel was actually part of a project that aimed to reproduce all seven of Van Gogh's sunflower paintings, but there are only two others in Canada and Australia.

This huge bat is located outside the Louisville Slugger Museum, a museum dedicated entirely to the baseball bats of the same name. The bat towers over the five-story building, and weighs in at 34 tons (68,000 pounds).

The original bat used by Babe Ruth was just shy of 3 feet long — the museums' replica is roughly 40 times the size.

Rayne, Louisiana, is nicknamed the "Frog Capital of the World." The city is covered in frog paraphernalia, such as frog statues, and even has an annual Frog Festival.

But the most iconic frog in town is named Monsieur Jacques, a giant, tuxedo-clad frog that welcomes visitors to town with the tip of his hat.

This globe, affectionately named Eartha, is housed within the software company DeLorme's headquarters, and has been the world's largest rotating globe since 1999.

Eartha is tilted at the same angle like the Earth's actual axis, and is a one to one million scale replica — California measures three-and-a-half feet on Eartha.

DeLorme originally began as a mapping company, but evolved into a software company specializing in navigation technology.

The giant Cider Barrel used to be a roadside cider stand, but in 2003 the stand shut its doors to the dismay of Montgomery County residents.

There have been efforts to refurbish and re-open the stand, including a failed Kickstarter campaign hoping to turn it into a bakery. For years, the barrel remained just that: a giant, vacant barrel.

But in 2020, efforts were again renewed, and the Cider Barrel is set to reopen this fall.

This 20-foot-tall Native American statue stands along the scenic Mohawk Trail. According to Roadside America, it's the state's largest Native American statue.

The world's largest crucifix can be found within the Indian River woods — but the record only applies to the man on the cross, not the cross itself.

The cross is 55 feet tall but comes in second for being the tallest one — that record belongs to a different cross in Illinois. But the actual statue of Jesus holds a record for being 30 feet tall, and weighs seven tons.

In addition to being a functional parish with mass and other services, the shrine also houses a Doll Museum, known for having the "largest collection of dolls dressed in traditional habits of men and women's religious communities in the United States."

This statue of the Jolly Green Giant mascot was not built by the namesake vegetable brand. It was spurred on by a Minnesota radio host who would give his interviewees cans of Green Giant vegetables. While the company signed off on the idea of the statue, it didn't provide any money. The radio host, Paul Hedberg, was able to raise the $50,000 needed with help from local businesses.

The Giant is just over 55 feet tall, and stands on an eight-foot platform.

While the battle for the title of world's largest chair has raged on for decades (that honor currently belongs to a 65-foot-tall wooden chair in Manzano, Italy), the first giant rocking chair was only built in 1990.

The record holder for the largest rocking chair in the country belongs to Casey, Illinois' rocker, but Gulfport, Mississippi's rocking chair is still pretty impressive.

The chair measures 33 feet in height and is completely constructed out of southern pine.

Of the many oddities and wonders within the City Museum, it's impressive that the world's largest pair of underwear stands out.

The tighty whities are six feet wide and seven feet tall — in other words, fit for a giant. In 2011, the underwear briefly went missing, only to be returned two months later freshly cleaned and folded, and alongside a new pair of red women's underwear.

Like its name suggests, this giant penguin does actually talk. However, its claim that Cut Bank is the coldest spot in the nation isn't true — Fairbanks, Alaska, is the rightful recipient of that award.

Standing at 27 feet tall and weighing 10,000 pounds, this huge penguin has been standing in front of the Glacier Gateway Inn since 1989.

Anyone who used to fight with their siblings or friends for a seat on the porch swing will love this Nebraska attraction. It's estimated that the 32-foot-long swing can seat about 24 children or 18 adults. It was built in 1985 with a piece from an irrigation frame.

The creator of this large flashlight, artist Claes Oldenburg, told the LA Times that he saw Las Vegas as a "beacon of light in the desert," and that this sculpture was meant to symbolize that.

The flashlight, which stands between the two auditoriums of the University of Nevada's Las Vegas campus, is also a reference to ushers using this kind of light to help audience members find their seats.

Students were skeptical of the 38-foot-tall, 74,000-pound sculpture when it first arrived on campus, but they've now come to love and appreciate it, according to the Times.

The USS Albacore has quite a history. The 300-pound steel submarine was used for research purposes during the Cold War, helping with experiments related to things like code-breaking, sonar, and hull design.

After being decommissioned in 1972, the Albacore was placed in the Inactive Ship Facility in Philadelphia and was brought to her current location (and original birthplace) 13 years later. The 200-foot-long sub is now open to the public and offers audio recordings from former crew members who recount what it was like to live on the vessel.

Lucy has multiple claims to fame. She dates all the way back to 1881, when real estate developer James Lafferty constructed her in hopes that the elephant would bring interested buyers to the area. In the years that followed, both royalty and presidents visited Lucy during their stay at the nearby Elephant Hotel.

In 1970, a developer tried to destroy Lucy to make room for condominiums. Luckily, a group of locals banned together and raised enough money to move her to her current spot. She's since been renovated to the tune of $1.5 million and has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The elephant is also the oldest surviving example of a unique form of "zoomorphic" architecture, and the oldest roadside attraction in the US.

One of the more creative uses for recycled goods that we've seen, the Giant Recycled Roadrunner was first created back in 1993 by artist Olin Calk, who constructed the bird using only items from the city landfill.

The 20-foot tall sculpture now stands at a highway rest stop and has received multiple new coatings of junk since its inception. According to RoadsideAmerica.com, its eyes are currently made from Volkswagen headlights retrieved from the city's recycling center.

Commissioned for the New York's World Fair of 1964-65, the 350-ton Unisphere was designed by landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke and boasted raised representations of the world's continents and mountain ranges. Capital cities were covered in lenses, and those lenses were then illuminated during the fair.

Although the sphere has seen its fair share of wear and tear, it's been renovated, cleaned, and reinforced multiple times throughout the years, and in 1995 it was named an official city landmark.

What few know about this large chest of drawers is that it's actually a camouflaged office building that was eventually bought by High Point University in 2018. Built in 1926 and originally named the Bureau of Information, the 36-foot-high chest was inspired by High Point's designation as the "Home Furnishings Capital of the World."

The two giant socks that hang out of the drawers are supposedly a reference to High Point's other main industry: hosiery.

Salem Sue's spot atop School Hill allows her to be visible to drivers along I-94 for miles. The 12,000-pound, 38-foot-tall fiberglass Holstein cow is the largest in the world and was built in 1974 to help promote dairy farmers.

Sue isn't the state's first giant animal roadside attraction, though. Jamestown, North Dakota, is home to the World's Largest Buffalo, which actually helped inspire Sue's construction.

It's fitting that The World's Largest Cuckoo Clock is located in a town that's known as the "Little Switzerland of Ohio." A cuckoo bird hops out of the 23-foot-tall and 24-foot-wide clock every half an hour, followed by a dancing couple and a band playing Swiss polka music.

Hugh Davis was a zoo director who gave his wife the 80-foot long smiling whale as an anniversary gift. Since the whale was equipped with a diving platform and slide, it was used by the Davis kids for a while, before becoming the main draw at Nature Acres, a roadside attraction the Davis' opened.

Although Nature Acres has been closed since 1988, locals continue to keep the Blue Whale in good condition. It's still considered a Route 66 icon to this day.

A giant possum holding a spray painting gun welcomes customers to Possum Auto Body in Albany. The possum — which is made from spray foam — sits under a tree from which three smaller possums hang.

Originally constructed in 1949 as an advertising gimmick by self-proclaimed "Shoe Wizard" Mahlon Haines, this 48-foot-long, five-floor-high, boot-shaped home has had seven owners throughout the years. During the '50s, Haines allowed couples to honeymoon in the house as part of a contest that he created to generate business for his chain of shoe stores.

The current homeowners, Jeff and Melanie Schmuck, have fixed it up and kept it open for tours. Melanie even turned the first floor into a cafe named Mellie's Makery, which offers homemade ice cream and other desserts.

Providence's Big Blue Bug Solutions has quite the mascot: a 58-foot-long, 4,000-pound termite that sits on top of the pest control business' roof. It's a whole 928 times larger than the size of an actual termite.

A contest held in 1990 asked Rhode Islanders to come up with a name for the mascot, and someone cleverly suggested Nibbles Woodaway. Considering that termites eat wood, the name was an appropriate choice. Since then, Nibbles has been featured on shows like the "Today" show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and even "Family Guy."

The Peachoid, a 135-foot peach-shaped water tower located off I-85 in Gaffney was famously featured in a "House of Cards" episode. Now tourists, including Netflix fans, come from far and wide to see the unusual landmark, which some say looks like a butt.

And although many joke about the Peachoid, locals are fiercely attached to the water tower. A fence was built around the landmark to help deter vandalism.

A nod to the fact that Huron is a prime spot for pheasant hunting, the World's Largest Pheasant stands 28 feet tall and weighs 22 tons.

The bird was erected in 1959, years after legends from the first settlers of the Dakota Territories claimed that the Dakota prairie was home to a giant pheasant whose incredible speed made him hard to catch.

Unfortunately, a fire claimed the original cedar bucket, which dated back to 1887. That's why the current bucket — built in 2011 — is enclosed by a fence. The 6-foot-tall container can hold a whopping 1,566 gallons, and can be found in Cannonsburgh Pioneer Village.

The original bucket had some impressive accolades: It was displayed at both the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the 1904 Saint Louis World's Fair.

This loose replica of the Eiffel Tower is — unsurprisingly — located in the city of Paris, Texas. As it turns out, the people of Paris, Tennessee, (yes, there are actually multiple US cities with that name) also built an Eiffel Tower. So, to differentiate the two, a group of investors added a large cowboy hat to the top of Texas' 60-foot-tall version.

Not all that much information is available about this gigantic fishing fly, besides the fact that it's over 32 feet long and weighs three tons.

This 19-foot-tall cedar and white pine chair has overcome a number of odds throughout the years. The first iteration of the ladder back chair was built in 1969 by the Hanes and Kayne furniture store. After 30 years of being exposed to the elements, the chair was torn down, and not long after, the furniture store went out of business.

LaFlamme's, a new furniture company, took over the location, and the owners constructed a new 3,000-pound chair. But it was knocked over by a windstorm just 20 days after it was erected. The owners got the chair back up, and this time, they anchored it to the ground. LaFlammes burned down shortly after, and then went out of business, but the chair survived and was up for sale in 2018. The next year, the local credit union purchased it.

The Pentagon's 6.4 million square feet and 17.5 miles of corridors earned it the designation of the largest low-rise office building in the world. Construction on the uniquely shaped building began in 1941 as a result of pressure from Congress to find a place for the war department's 24,000 employees, who were spread across 17 buildings at the time.

Today an estimated 23,000 people work in the Pentagon, one of the most recognized symbols of the American military.

Contrary to what you'd expect, this 25-foot-tall coffee-pot-shaped building is not a coffee shop. Since it was first built in 1927, it has had many different uses — as a food drive-thru and a speakeasy, for example.

Bob and Lylabell Radonich bought the coffee pot in 1955 and turned it into a bar/music venue with a jungle vibe. The landmark even appeared in two movies: "I Love You to Death" and "Say Anything." Bob passed away in 2002, but his daughter took over the Java Jive, which has been temporarily closed since 2020 due to COVID-19. Fans recently raised money to keep it open.

It's hard to believe that a teapot was once a root beer barrel, but that's how this attraction started out in the early 1900s. It also served as a clubhouse for a miniature golf course in Pennsylvania before being moved to Chester and made into a teapot.

The 14-foot teapot then became a concession stand and souvenir shop for a pottery outlet. The outlet went out of business in 1980, and the gigantic pot was moved to its current location and renovated. In 2015, the town celebrated the first ever World's Largest Teapot Day on August 8.

Standing outside of the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, this 143-foot long fiberglass sculpture of a muskie is open to visitors to walk through — there's even an observation deck in the fish's mouth.

To put this attraction's size into perspective, it's half the length of a city block and four stories high. If the muskie were real, it could swallow a bus.

The jackalope isn't actually a real animal. But that hasn't stopped the people of Douglas from loving this mythical creature that was first thought up by the Herrick brothers, local taxidermists who put antelope horns on jackrabbit carcasses.

State legislators made the jackalope Wyoming's Official Mythical Creature in 2005, and two years later, the city bought the largest jackalope that's ever stood in the city at 26 feet tall. Before this statue arrived in town, Douglas had seen other giant jackalopes: one that was destroyed by a car, and two others that were eight feet and 13 feet tall.