The world’s largest “catsup” (or ketchup) bottle is a unique 170-ft. tall, 100,000-gallon water tower in Collinsville, Illinois. It was constructed in 1949 by the W.E. Caldwell Company for the G.S. Suppiger catsup bottling plant (Brooks Catsup), which it towered above. The tower was built to supply water to the plant, and its president, Gerhart S. Suppiger, suggested it look like one of their bottles to gain attention.
The canning and bottling plant was sold in 1993, but the town raised $80,000 to save, repair and repaint the bottle, which eventually landed itself on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
The catsup bottle has been host to many festivals throughout the years and in 2017 a children’s beauty pageant was held where Little Princess Tomato and Sir Catsup were crowned.
Watch the video below to learn more about this quirky roadside attraction and sing along to the catchy tune.
Oh, and by the way, here’s something you probably don’t know about modern-day Heinz ketchup: it exits the iconic glass bottle at .028 miles per hour. If the viscosity of the ketchup is greater than this speed, the ketchup is rejected for sale. Interesting, huh?
If filled with catsup, the 70-foot monument, which sits on top of a 100-foot stand, would hold up to 640,000 standard-size bottles. Instead, it holds 100,000 gallons of water.