The 6 Weirdest Things People Actually Shipped
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Shipping is a complex industry. A lot of work happens behind the scenes, even for average shipments. Well, the shipments were about to show you are far from average. While you’re looking for the right logistics team, you can take heart knowing that you’re not in charge of moving a space shuttle. In the meantime, take a look below at some of the weirdest things that people have had to ship.
1. The World’s Largest Traveling Potato Sculpture
Somewhere in Idaho, there’s a big truck that hauls exactly one thing: a four-ton potato. It is aptly named “The Big Idaho Potato Truck.”
We’ve brokered a lot of agricultural logistics. We know all about cross-country freight. Still, when our carriers haul potatoes, they tend to haul a bunch of little ones at the same time.
This giant potato, unfortunately, isn’t real. It’s made out of fiberglass. We’re told that if it were real, it could make nearly a million French fries. According to the World Record Academy, this potato holds the record for the world’s largest traveling potato sculpture.
Which brings up several questions. How competitive was this record, exactly? How many potato sculptures were considered for this title? Who was the runner-up? Is there a world’s largest non-traveling potato sculpture?
2. A Giant Inflatable Rubber Duck
Produce isn’t the only thing a shipper might need to move. Some shippers, for example, might have questions about shipping inflatable items. Or art installation logistics. Or a giant rubber duck.
What, you’ve never had to ship that last one? Well, someone did. It’s the world’s largest rubber duck, and it’s called The Big Duck. So far, our world record holders have been very straightforward with the names.
3. Ingredients for a 15,000 lb Cheesecake
Each year, the town of Lowville, New York hosts the Cream Cheese Festival, which sounds like a fantastic reason to travel to New York. Just over a month ago, Lowville reclaimed the title for the world’s largest cheesecake. The confection weighed over 15,000 pounds, and they had to cut it with a sword.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to worry too much about refrigerated freight or cake shipping. Since Kraft has a plant in Lowville, the 13,000 pounds of cream cheese didn’t have to travel too far. But if you do have refrigerated shipping needs, record-breaking or otherwise, the Pearce Worldwide team can connect you to carriers who will get the job done.
4. Just a Whole Bunch of Snow
Do you have unique logistics needs? Are they as unique as shipping thousands of pounds of snow to Alaska? And yes, we did mean to say “to” instead of “from.”
In 2016, Alaska faced unseasonably warm temperatures, which meant less snowfall for their annual Iditarod dog sled race. So, the experts on snow and ice transport stepped in.
5. Over 28,000 Rubber Ducks
Oh, we weren’t quite done with the rubber ducks just yet. We see your giant rubber duck, and we raise you 28,000 regular-sized ones.
Have you heard of the Great Duck Spill of ‘92? (Disclaimer: We don’t know if people actually call it that.) A cargo ship container fell into the sea, and thanks to this shipping container accident, 28,000 rubber ducks were set free. Suddenly, the world was their bathtub. For years, American beachgoers would occasionally find a rubber duck that had washed ashore.
Okay. Now we’re done with the rubber duck content.
6. A Space Shuttle
We’ve brokered some oversized freight before, but we can’t say that we’ve ever taken it to this level. There’s heavy haul logistics, and then there’s shipping an entire space shuttle orbiter. Which brings us to the Endeavor. After making 25 flights, the Endeavor was decommissioned and transported from Florida to California.
It had to be shipped via aircraft, in spite of the fact that the distance between Florida and California is a lot shorter than the distance between the ground and outer space. Then, it was transported through the streets of Los Angeles, which we’re assuming couldn’t have helped the traffic situation.
Pearce Worldwide: For Your Unique Logistics Needs
You probably don’t ship rubber ducks or record-setting potatoes, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have unique logistics needs of your own. Whatever you ship or haul, Pearce Worldwide is here to connect you to the resources you need. If you’re looking for a logistics company, get in touch with us today.
