Along a lonely stretch of road between the small villages of Talala and Winganon in the US state of Oklahoma, lies what appears to be an abandoned space capsule. The letterings ‘NASA’ and ‘United States of America’ along with the flag is clearly visible on its side. However, it doesn’t take long to realize that the fallen spacecraft is actually a cement mixer.

The landmark came into being by a happy accident when a concrete-filled cement mixer truck, which was on its way to help build the bridge over Oologah Lake, rolled over here in 1959. By the time a tow truck arrived to haul the cement truck away, all of the cement had hardened inside the mixer. Unable to handle the extra weight, the crew decided to haul only the truck and come back for the detached mixer later, which never happened. Eventually the locals discovered the relic, and the mixer became an easy target for anyone with spray paint.

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