Abandoned Cement Mixer Space Capsule

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Abandoned Cement Mixer Space Capsule.

 

Image: Pat Clancy

 

If you find yourself driving down the quiet rural lane that connects the small towns of Talala and Winganon, in Oklahoma, keep an eye out for what appears to be an abandoned NASA space capsule lying by the side of the road. Adorned with the American flag and the agency’s logo, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the reentry vehicle had just fallen from space. It even dates back to the height of the Space Race.

 

In reality, however, the discarded space capsule is nothing more than a cement mixer, albeit one that’s become an offbeat local tourist attraction and art installation. In or around 1959 (a year after America’s Project Mercury got underway, though completely unrelated), a cement truck bound for the Oologah Lake bridge, which was then under construction, rolled over here, depositing its heavy mixer by the side of the road. According to the story, the truck was later salvaged, but the cement mixer was abandoned where it lay.

 

Over the years, the mixer has become an unofficial canvas for local artists to showcase their skills. In September 2011, artists Barry and Heather Thomas decided to turn it into a NASA reentry capsule in celebration of their fifth wedding anniversary – and the landmark as we know it today was born.

 

According to Amusing Planet: “The couple attached canning lids, garden hose, broken reflectors and other household items to the mixer to make the transformation look as real as possible. Before the latest incarnation the mixer was painted in a patriotic stars-and-stripes motif.”

 

 

In the years since, the abandoned cement mixer turned highway art has become a roadside landmark in Oklahoma. Passers-by stop to have their photos taken with the replica NASA reentry capsule, which has cropped up all over the internet and made it onto the front page of Reddit. It even has its own Facebook page.

 

So if you’re driving along the stretch of road between Talala and Winganon in the near future, keep your eyes peeled and let us know if the NASA paint scheme is still intact.