Businesses along Route 66 and other roads needed a way to stand out among the competition so many bought large fiberglass statues for advertising. The statues, including lumberjacks and cowboys, eventually became roadside attractions in their own right.
They later earned the nickname "Muffler Men" from the founders of the travel website Roadside America.com, who had seen some of the roadside giants holding car mufflers.
A former owner of the Wilmington, Illinois restaurant, The Dairy Delight, later renamed The Launching Pad during America's Race to Space, bought the Gemini Giant in 1965 where it remained, said Joel Baker, founder of American Giants, a company dedicated to finding the statues and sharing their stories.
--RoadDog
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