Adelaide Cup Day

Well Monday was a public holiday in only a few of Australia's states, including mine. Ours was because of the Adelaide Cup Horse Races which proves that horses are good for something.

Just when I was starting to come around and give them another chance, I stumbled upon this a$hole over the long weekend on a drive through the hills:

A much-larger-than-necessary-fug-novelty-tourist-trap which is also called the "Big Rocking Horse."

Part of a wooden toy factory and a wildlife park, the Big Rocking Horse in the Adelaide Hills stands at over 18 metres tall and weighs more that 25 tonnes. Designed by David McIntosh, it took eight months to build at a cost of over $100,000.

What a waste.

Now this is a part of a much larger Australia-wide phenomenon known as the "Big Things." According to the old Wikir snapper:

"The Big Things of Australia are a loosely related set of large structures or sculptures. There are estimated to be over 150 such objects around the country, the first being the Big Scotsman in Medindie, Adelaide, which was built in 1963.

Most Big Things began as tourist traps found along major roads between destinations.

The big things have become something of a cult phenomenon, and are sometimes used as an excuse for a road trip, where many or all Big Things are visited and used as a backdrop to a group photograph. Many of the big things are considered works of folk art and are being heritage-listed."


Aside from seeing the horse monstrosity, you can also travel around in search of the "Big Ant," the "Big Beer Can," the "Big Potato" (which is particularly ugly), "The Big Boxing Crocodile," "The Sausage King," the "Big Captain Cook" and much much more. See the full list of silliness here.

And I thought Texas had a penchant for all things big.