A lot of people have given up on world peace, because they can't even achieve civility among 117 Facebook friends. But a small town may have just discovered the secret to universal harmony:
A GIANT BEACH BALL.
A huge, four-foot-tall beach ball randomly showed up in Stoughton, Wisconsin . . . population 12,611. Well, 12,612 if you count "Rolie Polie Ole," which is what the town has nicknamed their new celebrity "hero."
It all started a few weeks ago when a local Facebook post asked whose ball it was. They never figured it out, but the town has adopted it as their mascot . . . taking turns pushing it around, kicking it to each other, taking selfies with it, and signing it.
All this movement and hands-on attention is rough on Rolie Polie Ole . . . since it's, you know, a beach ball . . . but the local fire department has stepped in to help keep the ball fixed up, patched, and inflated.
It's unclear what the long-term plan for it is. There's been talk of naming a park after it. But the town generally seems content to just enjoy seeing it around town, and use it as a fun distraction from everything else going on.
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