SUBSCRIBE & WIN! Sign up for the Daily CHAT News Today Newsletter for a chance to win a $75 South Country Co-op gift card!

Cooking Up Something Big

South Pittsburg, Tennessee’s Lodge Cast Iron Store has been cooking up something special in celebration of their 125th anniversary — an 18-foot, 14,360-pound cast-iron skillet set to debut at the Lodge Cast Iron Museum when it opens this summer.

The museum hopes to open while the cast iron is hot and has no intention of being a flash in the pan, having curated an experience for tourists to learn about the rich history of cast iron and commemorate the community that cookware maker Lodge Manufacturing has called home since 1896.

Visitors can look forward to a variety of exhibits, including “How It’s Made,” “Lodge History & Legacy,” and “Cast Iron Culture,” in which Lodge partners with the Southern Foodways Alliance to give hungry guests a taste of Southern cast-iron cooking.

While there will be plenty of “rare cast-iron collections” to behold, the World’s Largest Cast Iron Skillet will be the museum’s main dish. Fans can even get their very own (much smaller) cast-iron cookware over at the Lodge Cast Iron Factory Store!

Don’t load up the car quite yet, though! While the oversized skillet has officially touched down in its new town, Lodge will be keeping it under wraps until the museum officially opens at the end of summer, which means more time for you to plan your itinerary!

Map Out Your Unbelievable Roadtrip To Tennessee

No quirky road trip would be complete without a pitstop in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, home to seven Ripley’s Attractions! While you’re there, be sure to check out Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium to come face to bumper with a car covered in crystals, breathe fire with a scrap-metal dragon, and have a squint at the Last Supper made of lint! Or swim over to Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies to take in some of the world’s most curious creatures!

Gatlinburg Attractions

Can’t wait for the end of summer to satisfy your record-breaking itch? Head over to our Facebook to watch our pride, joy, and latest world-record-breaking achievement, Hoss the Human Hairball’s hair-oic journey from road tripping around the world collecting human hair for his mega-coif to his magnificent New Year’s Eve Hairball drop!


By Meghan Yani, contributor for Ripleys.com

EXPLORE THE ODD IN PERSON!

Discover hundreds of strange and unusual artifacts and get hands-on with unbelievable interactives when you visit a Ripley’s Odditorium!

FIND AN ATTRACTION NEAR YOU

Source: Tennessee Drivers Bewildered By 18-Foot Skillet Traveling I-59