Mysterious Revolving Ball

In 1886, the Merchant family of Marion constructed a beautiful and fitting grave monument for their family burial plot at Marion Cemetery. Within two years of its construction, someone noticed that the 5,200-pound polished granite ball atop the pedestal had begun to rotate. The only unpolished spot on the ball was now visibly marked, indicating that it was in motion. Concerned, the Merchant family brought the original construction crew back to reset the ball. However, it wasn’t long before the ball started moving again, a phenomenon that has continued ever since. While there have been many speculations about the cause, no specific explanation has been found.

In 1929, the monument was featured in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not,” a famous newspaper cartoon, and it has since gained international recognition. Outside the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, there is a water fountain mysteriously designed in the image of this now-famous family memorial.