Francis Johnson of Darwin (1904-1989) was an ingenious wood carver who became known for carving one-piece pliers as small as an inch long that opened and closed without pins or other fasteners. On larger pliers, he carved another pliers from each handle, and by repeating the process multiple times he created 23 working pliers, all still attached, from a seven-foot block of basswood; when completed, they folded up to form the original seven-foot block of wood. A skilled carpenter, he built many homes and remodeled others. From 1950 to 1979, he also collected used baler twine, tied the pieces together, and wound the World's Largest Ball of Twine Made by One Man from twine gathered from farmer friends, many of whom delivered saved pieces to him. At his Darwin home on Highway 12, he added more twine and kept the giant ball round by rolling it with a jack normally used in moving railroad cars, and he chained his 8 1/2 ton creation to a tree to prevent theft. Before the ball was moved in 1991 to its permanent home in Darwin, it stood in his front yard 1/4 mile east of town on Highway 12, where many travelers stopped to see it, take photos, and visit with him. He also proudly showed visitors his large collections of tools, pencils, and carpenter nail aprons, which he kept in a storage building. His 23 working pliers within a seven-foot block of basswood and the 11-foot, 9-inch diameter Twine Ball were regarded as two Wonders of the World. In 1958, Francis and the then six-foot Twine Ball traveled to New York City to appear on the TV show "I've Got a Secret," hosted by Garry Moore.