"It’s only taken since the late 1970s, but Alexandria, Indiana is now home to the World’s Largest Ball of Paint, a unique attraction that continues to grow as visitors add new coats," the Only In Your State says

"The bizarre artifact came into being in 1977 when Alexandria resident Mike Carmichael let his young son cover a baseball in blue house paint, a weird hobby he had invented during his years working at a paint shop. After that, they continued to add new layers, one over the other, causing the ball to slowly expand with each application. In the beginning, the ball would be painted multiple times a day, as it could simply be dipped in a can, or quickly brush painted, but as it continued to expand, becoming more unwieldy, the process began to take longer, and the growth slowed, but it did not stop.

"With giant balls taking much longer to cover in coat, nowadays Carmichael allows visitors to add coats when they come to see the thing. They can choose what color they want to add from different buckets of paint, and add their choice to a running tally of top hues (blue is the favorite). Visitors can also walk away with shaved cross-sections of the ball, proof that they contributed to one of America’s newest superlative achievements."

"Several years later, in 1977, my wife, Glenda, and I had started another baseball. The baseball was 9" in circumference and weighed less than one pound, I ran a 3/8"rod through it so I could easily suspend it from the ceiling giving me easy access to paint at all angles," the official website says.

"January 1, 1977 I let my son at the age of three put the very first coat of blue paint on the ball. We painted the ball many times a day, while the ball was little and easy to handle. My wife painted the ball several times throughout the day while I was working; I painted it in the evenings and on the weekends.

"After a while, it became a piece of artwork to us and we rather enjoyed showing it off. As of today we still try to paint it as often as time allows. Over the years I get someone to paint every one-hundredth coat. The ball has gotten so big and so heavy that we built a barn beside our house for the ball of paint to reside and become Alexandria's biggest roadside attraction for all to come and see!"

"The World's Largest Ball of Paint hangs from an industrial-size hook: a solid mass of microscopically-thin layers, painted on top of each other day after day, year after year," the Roadside America reports.

"The Ball is the vision of Michael Carmichael. It's surrounded by five-gallon latex paint buckets, and slung from a steel beam in a custom-built Ball House next to the Carmichael home in rural Indiana. A rainbow of spatters coats the floor. A mirror beneath the Ball ensures that each new coat covers it completely, even in the hard-to-see spots.

"Mike blew past 5,000 coats, then 15,000, then 25,000. In the early years Mike could paint the ball several times a day, rapidly boosting its size. Mike's compassionate wife Glenda has herself painted the ball over 8,000 times. But the ball is now so big that even a single coat requires a commitment of time and effort. "I let my visitors paint it for me," joked Mike, although either he or his son still dutifully paints it once a day."

"The World’s Largest Paint Ball, created and owned by Mike and Glenda Carmichael from Alexandria, is one of Indiana’s most visited roadside attractions," the Travel Indiana says 

"The Ball of paint all started with an ordinary baseball. Imagine that baseball with over 23,400 layers of paint on it and weighing in at over 4,000 pounds. That’s what Mike and Glenda have been doing for the past 36 years with the help of friends, family, and visitors. 

"The Ball of Paint has been on various TV and radio shows world wide. They’ve also had numerous articles written in local newspapers, magazines, and books including editions of Ripley’s Believe it or Not and the Guinness book of world records. The Ball of Paint has been filmed for commercials in the Netherlands and also appeared on talk shows in China. They’ve also been on YouTube!"

"Michael Carmichael, 64, started using emulsion in 1977, and since then, the ball has had 22,894 licks of paint. It originally used to measure in around, but now it has a 70 and a half-inch circumference," the World Record Academy says.

"It started as a relatively simple project and a bit of fun but I just kept on painting and painting and painting and before I knew it, the ball was enormous," the Sun quoted Carmichael as saying. "Then I didn't want to stop. I moved it out the garage a good few years ago after it outgrew it, and now has its own special shed. 
 
"People come from all over the world to add a coat and get their picture taken with it. Sometimes I can add up to ten coats a day if the weather is dry, but we've added at least one every day," he added.

"Mike Carmichael of Indiana owns the World's Largest Ball of Paint. It started out back in 1977 as an ordinary baseball -- and then he began to paint it," the Weird Universe says.

"Many thousands of coats later, it weighs over 3000 pounds, has become a roadside attraction, and is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest ball of paint in the world.

"According to Mike's website, for $10 he'll write anything you want on his paint ball and send you a picture of it."

"Like Michelangelo and his Sistine chapel ceiling in Rome, fellow artist Michael Carmichael has been working on his masterpiece in Alexandria, Ind., for years," the CBS News reports.

"The house painter returns from work each day to his studio to paint a puzzling spheroid -- over and over. It started out with Carmichael's baseball. Then, 27 years later, it is covered with thousands of coats of paint.

"It's a lot of dedication, as Bill Geist of CBS News Sunday Morning first reported on April 25, 2004. And it's paid off in the world's largest ball of paint. It's probably hitting close to 1,300 pounds."

"The owner of this world record is Michael Camichael and he is a great guy and guide through the history of this Ball of Paint. Even if we were unannounced arriving he took us in and showed us everything and even let us paint the ball from red to green. That's what roadside attractions on USA roadtrips should be. Happy to did that. Pure and strong recommendation!"

"Had an awesome time painting this and was definitely not expecting it to be as big as it was! Mike was great. Seeing his passion for this was well worth the trip. Bought a souvenir shirt after becoming a temporary world record holder! (;"

"This is an epic road trip stop! Definitely call for a reservation being it’s at there home. Mike loves sharing the story of his journey with this ball of paint and he makes the experience so much fun. Had to buy a shirt, give a donation, sign the wall and we are especially proud to be the artists of layer # 27,563. We got certificates to prove it."

"This was so much more than we thought it would be. The people are great and you actually get to paint the ball! So worth the drive!!"

"Make sure to call ahead for reservations to be respectful of the owners who do this for free out of their own home. The owners are very friendly and will be there the whole time to answer questions and help you get started. You can choose from several paint colors. You will be given a number and you will be a world record holder for the largest painted ball in the world after you paint the ball...until the next tourist rolls in and steals your title. You get a certificate from the owners showing your accomplishment and signed by the owners. It is so neat that this started in 1977! Very fun."

Photos: World's Largest Ball of Paint: world record in Alexandria, Indiana. Photo: TripAdvisor