If you follow along with my stories on AL.com, you know I’m familiar with just about every roadside attraction in Alabama. So, I was surprised to learn that one of my beloved roadside oddities was reported as “Gone But Not Forgotten.”
The website RoadsideAmerica.com said, at the time of this writing, “16-Foot-Long Dental Tools (Gone). Stainless steel sculpture of a giant dental pick and mirror – titled “Piknmera” – outside the office of dentist Barry Booth … Reported gone in 2023.”
I’ve visited the Spanish Fort attraction in the past but, because the town is a long drive from my house in north Alabama, I picked up the phone and called Dr. Booth. Much to my relief, he informed me the giant sculpture of dental tools is still outside his office at 475 Spanish Fort Boulevard.
“It’s staying right where it is,” he said. “It’s not going anywhere
The sculpture has been at Booth’s office for “about 25 years,” he said, adding, “I have people come by and take pictures of it all the time.”
The funky attraction features a 16-foot-long, 8-foot-wide dental pick, along with an oversized version of the familiar dental mirror. The stainless-steel sculpture honors the faculty and staff of the University of Alabama School of Dentistry, where Booth attended after taking undergraduate classes at Auburn University.
READ MORE: Here’s why there’s a giant dental pick in south Alabama
The sculpture has not been certified by Guinness World Records, but if I had to guess, I’d say these are the world’s largest dental instruments. I mean, how could they not be? Although my research – y’all don’t want to see my search history – did lead me to a 40-foot tooth sculpture made from 80,000 toothbrushes that is certified by Guinness. See it here.
In addition to the dental tools, Booth commissioned a symbol for the City of Spanish Fort, which was incorporated in 1993. He decided on a 14-foot-tall blue paperclip to symbolize the city “is open for business,” he said. The carbon steel sculpture is located on Spanish Fort Boulevard/U.S. Highway 31 at Old Spanish Trail/U.S. Highway 98. The sculpture was fabricated by artist Casey Downing Jr.
