"Mammoth" Cheese
Last summer, as part of my big things quest, I went to Perth in search of the Mammoth Cheese. Well, after driving all that way, some of the locals told us that said cheese had been torn down. Rantings about said trip can be read here.
Now, anyone who knows me, knows that when I get an idea into my head, there will be no stopping me. I was not content to just sit back and believe that the mammoth cheese had met its demise. I emailed a Perth tourism place, who then forwarded my email to the Perth Chamber of Commerce. The Perth Chamber of Commerce not only emailed me info about the still existing mammoth cheese replica, but also snail mailed me a brochure. Nice!
Turns out that the replica still exists, it was just moved from its original location. The result? Attempt # 2 to visit the Mammoth Cheese.
Off I go to Perth. Do I remember to bring said brochure or any of the detailed driving directions with me? No. I do not. But do not despair. Remember, I am not one to give up easily. I am able to get directions from the friendly neighbourhood mechanic.
A big things quest is not all fun and games. There are definite ups and downs. There are fabulous big things and not so fabulous ones. We pull up to the "mammoth" cheese. Picture if you will the following setting: There the cheese sits, in the middle of an overgrown field next to the railroad tracks on the far side of town, basically in the middle of nowhere. One side of the cheese has been graffitied by skaters. Don't the youth of today have any respect? Shameful I tell you. Truly shameful. Perhaps I should devote a Saturday to going back to Perth for a Mammoth Cheese rejuvenation project. I think the town of Perth is beginning to forget where they've come from. Tsk tsk.
Now, a word about the replica itself. Basically the mammoth cheese is a cylinder of concrete that has fallen into disrepair. It actually has moss growing out of it. The only way you have of knowing that this cylinder of concrete is supposed to be a giant cheese is that it has a sign on top saying "Mammoth Cheese".
Honestly, if you are going to go through the trouble of building a replica of a giant cheese, you could maybe try a little harder. You at least paint it with some holes or something to make it look like Swiss (although I believe the actual cheese was cheddar). You could give the giant cheese a mouse for a friend.
And, please note that this "mammoth" cheese was only about 6ft tall. Does it really deserve the adjective "mammoth"? (Dictionary.com defines mammoth as "immensely large; huge; enormous." Last time I checked, 6ft does not count as immensely large. That isn't even that tall for a person by today's standards! Now, granted, maybe the size was impressive for an actual cheese back in the day, but I think even that is pushing it.
It must not have taken much to impress back in 1893. I guess in those days a 6 ft cheese was nothing to scoff at. These days? Let’s just say, "size does matter."
posted by Dish @ 11:01 PM
3 Comments:
I like how the moss must have made the cheese look moldy!
What a cheesey story!
How about some of those "I'm a woman, men are pigs "rants so that we can have some fun?
When I saw the title Mammoth Cheese, I thought it was going to be a review of Snakes on a Plane
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