Talk about imaginative marketing! In 1992, people foraging in a forest near a tiny township in Michigan discovered a huge fungus growing beneath the moist soil. The giant mushroom, known to scientists as Armillaria bulbosa, stretched across 37 acres and weighed an estimated 21,000 pounds.
The tourism appeal of that phenomenon was not lost on residents of the nearby town of Crystal Falls. They created an annual Humongous Fungus Fest, planned a series of enjoyable activities, and began to cash in on the unusual appeal of what many people might consider to be an easy-to-overlook example of Mother Nature’s sense of humor.
