Turn Five

The West has long been known for its independent thought; it’s certainly true of Texas, and so it’s not surprising that some of the more unusual museums and artifacts in the world may be found in San Antonio.  Long known for The Alamo, its Riverwalk, and luxury San Antonio hotels, the city also contains such unusual sites as the world’s biggest wooden nickel.  Remember the phrase, “Don’t take any wooden nickels”?  It would be almost impossible to take this one, which is thirteen feet and four inches in diameter and five and a half inches thick and weighs a total of two thousand five hundred pounds, over a ton of nickel (no matter if you calculate that in US tonnage [2,000 pounds] or United Kingdom tonnage [2,240 pounds]).  There’s also a mighty big pair of boots in town, too, measuring forty feet tall and thirty-five feet wide, also the world’s largest.

But in all the states, perhaps nothing quite beats Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum.  Perhaps it’s not so strange if you consider that Mr. Smith used to be a master plumber; he worked at transforming toilet seat lids into art for over thirty years and has now over 800 pieces of art, which are displayed in a private garage.  Recent reviews of the work from July of 2009 remain enthusiastic about the art and passion that went into it.  Why would one work with wooden toilet seats as an art form?  Mr. Smith started out by looking for a place to mount a deer antlers.  Inspired by the world around him, both personally and internationally.  One toilet seat lid depicts the international time zones and a map of the world, along with the words, “Time keeps ticking wherever you are.”  Another seat contains a real leaf of marijuana and a skull and crossbones to indicate poison, with the words, Stop Drugs, “Say No.”

While you can view them, even take a group tour of the garage, Mr. Smith would not sell the works, considered too personal to part with.  The Chief of San Antonio police has even signed the back of the seat, providing legal permission for the leaf for the purposes of education.

No matter where you choose to go on your visit to San Antonio, whether its to look at big shows, big nickels, painted toilet seats, or more established fare, such as the Riverwalk, the Alamo, and related festivals, you’re sure to have an interesting time.

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