35 Years and 100,000 Toothpicks Later...

I love breathtaking art, and this truly is breath-taking.  When this artist took on the task of creating a masterpiece, the majority of you were toddlers.  Some of you were not even conceived, or even thought of.   And some of you were probably in your 30's or graduating high school or college. But "artist Scott Weaver had already begun work on this insanely complex kinetic sculpture, Rolling through the Bay, that he continues to modify and expand even today. "The sheer magnitude is amazing!  You will have to see the video to know what I'm talking about.

The elaborate sculpture is comprised of multiple “tours” that move pingpong balls through neighborhoods, historical locations, and iconic symbols of San Francisco, all recreated with a little glue, some toothpicks, and an incredible amount of ingenuity. He admits in the video that there are several toothpick sculptures even larger than his, but none has the unique kinetic components he’s constructed. Via his website Weaver estimates he’s spent over 3,000 hours on the project, and the toothpicks have been sourced from around the world. [source]

I have used different brands of toothpicks depending on what I am building. I also have many friends and family members that collect toothpicks in their travels for me. For example, some of the trees in Golden Gate Park are made from toothpicks from Kenya, Morocco, Spain, West Germany and Italy. The heart inside the Palace of Fine Arts is made out of toothpicks people threw at our wedding.

You can catch the amazing video narrated by the artist himself after the jump...