Weird Island
39. RHODESIDE ATTRACTIONS: The Big Blue Bug
Episode Summary
The star of this week’s episode is a 58 foot long, 9 foot tall, 4,000 pound termite named Nibbles Woodaway. But you might know him better as the Big Blue Bug.
Episode Notes
The star of this week’s episode is a 58 foot long, 9 foot tall, 4,000 pound termite named Nibbles Woodaway. But you might know him better as the Big Blue Bug.
Episode Source Material:
Episode Transcription
- You’re going to be very familiar with the star of this week’s episode.
- He’s a local Rhode Island celebrity. And if he had a dating profile, he might advertise himself as 41 years old. Loves Del’s Lemonade and Awful Awfuls from Newport Creamery. He’s big into the holidays and dressing up. And even cosplayed as the Incredible Hulk for Comic Con this year. He once got a tattoo, but regretted it, so went through the process of tattoo removal. He’s had cameos in TV shows and movies, like Family Guy and Dumb and Dumber. He’s big into supporting non-profits. Actually, he’s also just big. And blue. He’s a termite named Nibbles Woodaway. But you might know him better as the Big Blue Bug.
- I’m Sara and you’re listening to Weird Island. Each week, I’ll be telling you about the strangest stories I can dig up from my tiny, little state of Rhode Island. And this week, we’re talking about Rhode Island’s most iconic roadside attraction.
- When I think of “World’s Largest” things that I’d like to have in my state, the world’s largest bug is not necessarily what I would choose. I hear “world’s largest bug,” and I immediately picture exhibits I’ve seen in Natural History museums of giant, prehistoric insects that have uh-thankfully gone extinct, like these dragonfly-like bugs that lived during the Paleozoic era that had a wingspan over 2 feet and have been described as “formidable predators.” Ick.
- But luckily, that is not what we’re talking about today. We’re talking about one of Rhode Island’s most iconic attractions, and the only World’s Largest Bug I want to coexist with.
- Rhode Island isn’t exactly the place you think of for roadside attractions. The golden age of roadside kitsch began in the 1920s, as long-distance travel by car started increasing in popularity. Suddenly the drive could be part of the vacation with travelers in control of their pace and what they saw. And as highways like Route 66 came to be, small towns that popped up along highways started looking for ways to get motorists to stop and visit shops and restaurants in places that they might have otherwise just passed through. Especially in the early days, these attractions were often big advertisements for products sold inside. Between the late 1920s and the 1950s, there were all kinds of unique buildings popping up along highways across America--like a giant milk bottle, a giant tea kettle, and a giant duck. And then as the Guinness Book of World Records started publishing books in the late 50s, small towns started competing, resulting in multiples--like 6 different “World’s Largest Frying Pans” or four different “World’s Largest Balls of Twine.”
- In the 1960s, this uniquely American phenomenon took off outside the US - with Australia and New Zealand adopting the American love for “Big Things.” But right around this time, some of the American originals started to slowly disappear. In the late 50s, President Dwight Eisenhower had signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act - a bill which created a national system of Interstate highways intended to eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffic jams, and other things that got in the way of speedy travel. And these interstate highways often bypassed small-towns and their roadside attractions.
- The Big Blue Bug came into existence after the golden age of American roadside kitsch, but that’s still squarely what it is. The massive, eye-catching structure wasn’t created to get people to stop - but to notice a business people normally wouldn’t think about. A pest control company.
- In 1980, a company called New England Pest Control moved into a new building on I-95. The location had the potential to be great for advertising, and the owner wanted to put something unique on the roof to draw the eye. Having an insect infestation worthy of calling a Pest Control Company is sometimes seen as embarrassing--people don’t want others to think their home is unclean. So many pest control companies--especially at the time--were fairly discrete. But New England Pest Control wanted to be anything but. Rather than using unmarked vehicles, their representatives would show up in branded vans. And they wanted their building to stand out, too.
- The idea for the giant mascot came from a brainstorming session between company founder Leondard Goldman, his son Stephen, and their advertiser - George Cardono. It was Stephen, the son, who came up with the idea for a big bug--and they decided the bug should be a termite.
- I don’t know for sure what their reasoning was at the time, but it seems pretty fitting to me. This giant termite would go on to bring in business and revenue for the company - and every year, that’s what his littler counterparts would do, too. Termites are considered to be the most destructive of all household pests, with US residents spending about $2.2 Billion dollars a year on termite control. So, termites are all around responsible for the company’s success.
- According to New England Pest Control, the Big Blue Bug is an exact replica of an Eastern Subterranean Termite, the most common type found in the US, which sounds like a bit of a stretch. But George Cardono, the company’s advertiser, apparently studied them under a microscope to get the design right - and then worked with a sign company in North Providence to build the bug, segment by segment, out of steel and fiberglass. All in, the massive structure ended up being 58 feet long, 9 feet tall and 4,000 pounds. This makes it over 1,700x the length of an actual Eastern Subterranean termite.
- *Some sites online say he’s 928x the size of an actual termite, but if we’re talking an Eastern Subterranean Termite, their math doesn’t totally work out.
- When the structure was done, it needed to be painted. And we all know what color the company chose to go with. George Cardono was like, “Grab your paint brushes and your paint, it’s time to make this termite… purple.”
- Yeah, the Big Blue Bug was originally painted purple, not blue. Because as Cardono studied the swarming Eastern Subterranean Termite under a microscope, he determined that its color appeared to have a purplish look to it.
- So, the bug was coated with thick layers of purple paint, lifted onto the roof of the building, and bolted down really, really well. If you’ve ever had termites in or around your home, you might know that not all of them have wings. But this one is a replica of a Reproductive Termite, or a swarmer, so he does have wings. And the company wanted to make sure that he didn’t use them to fly down onto the highway. They were so careful about it that they now brag that he’s Hurricane Proof.
- So, from that day on, the Big Purple Bug sat there overlooking the highway as thousands of Rhode Islanders passed by below him. But we all know that isn’t the end of the story. Day after day, the sun slowly faded his purple paint to a pale blue. And before long, people hardly remembered that he had originally been another color. When one day, Providence traffic reporter Mike Sheridan referred to the termite as the “Big Blue Bug,” it had such a nice ring to it that New England Pest Control thought, heck - let’s just go with the blue! And thus he is the Big Blue Bug today.
- By 1990, the Big Blue Bug was well established as a classic Rhode Island icon. And while the name Big Blue Bug had a real ring to it, the company felt like he needed a personal name, too. So they ran a contest asking locals to submit names ideas for the blue termite, and Tiverton resident Geraldine Perry submitted the winner: Nibbles Woodaway. It’s cute, it’s clever and while not everyone knows this name, those who do tend to love it. Geraldine would later be quoted saying, “Every time I go by the highway I say, “Hi Nibbles, it’s your adopted mom,” so I think she was pretty proud of herself, too.
- All Rhode Islanders feel like they know and love Nibbles, but no one feels that more than the Goldman family, the owners of the pest control company. Leonard Goldman’s sons now run the business, and one of them described Nibbles as a sibling. “Our father created all five of us.” (Four sons and a bug). And as one of the kids, Nibbles wasn’t without his wild years.
- You might say that Nibbles was once involved in a party that got out of hand. In 1989, radio station WPRO did a radio broadcast from the roof of the company, standing between Nibbles' front legs. The host was shirtless and joined by two scantily clad women. One was a belly dancer, and the other wore a bright green bikini and held up flash cards with reports on the time, weather and traffic. The whole thing definitely caught the attention of commuters, causing traffic to slow to a crawl. And a few distracted drivers ended up causing two multi-vehicle wrecks that sent a total of six people to the hospital. You have to wonder how that woman in the bikini felt holding up a sign saying traffic was bad when they were the ones causing it.
- And then there was the time Nibbles got some regrettable, unsolicited tattoos. In 2017, someone climbed up and left graffiti on both sides of the Big Blue Bug. Rhode Islanders were so outraged they found the facebook of the man suspected of leaving the graffiti and left all kinds of threatening comments, advising him to leave the state or telling him he should kill himself. That’s how passionate people are about the Big Blue Bug.
- So, maybe Nibbles didn’t want tattoos of his own, but would you believe it that some people want tattoos of Nibbles? In 1998, 26-year-old Pawtucket resident Deb Bettencourt got a three-inch Nibbles Woodaway tattooed on her left shin. For some reason she reached out to New England Pest Control first to make sure there wouldn't be any trademark problems, and the company was actually so flattered they offered to pay for it. Deb got locally-famous for her tattoo, and is often quoted in articles about the Big Blue Bug, including one in the WSJ.
- But, despite his wild days, Nibbles is pretty wholesome. Since 1995, he’s been dressing up for all kinds of holidays. He wears an Uncle Sam hat and a white styrofoam beard for the 4th of July, he’s been known to dress up as a witch for halloween, and right now, he’s dressed up as Rudolph for the holidays. He’s wrapped in Christmas lights and wearing antlers and a blinking red nose. For much of the pandemic, Nibbles wore his surgical mask in support of Front Line workers facing Covid-19–and last year he even went without his blinking Rudolph nose during the holidays, so people would know that his nose was hidden safely behind his mask. This year around Halloween, instead of donning his witches attire, Nibbles dressed as the Incredible Hulk and partnered with Lou Ferrigno to benefit the RI Chapter of the ALS Association.
- Nibbles has even promoted other Rhode Island brands, which at one point caused some controversy. Nibbles once sipped from a massive cup of Del’s lemonade and the city zoning inspector cited the company, saying they couldn’t advertise things they weren’t selling, otherwise he functioned as a billboard. Buddy Cianci was mayor at the time, and he actually stepped in to issue what he called a “Stay of Extermination,” allowing the cup of Del’s to stay until the company could make an appeal to the Zoning Board. By the time the appeal was made, the promotion was over. In response to some backlash, Buddy was quoted saying, “We’re not pardoning Jack the Ripper here. It’s a bug, and it’s been our friend for years.”
- So, it’s clear that the Big Blue Bug is an important piece of Rhode Island’s identity. I mean, you can’t get any more Rhode Island than being friends with Buddy. And as a classic RI sight, people wouldn’t know what to do if Nibbles wasn’t there, overlooking I-95. But, every now and then, Nibbles does need to come down for repairs. The last time this happened, in 2002, Nibbles Woodaway went on a bit of a road show before returning to his perch. He visited the Bristol 4th of July Parade, Roger Williams Park Zoo, the Wakefield Mall, a Cardi’s Superstore in Swansea, and a Benny’s in Warwick RIP. This allowed people to get up close and personal with their favorite RI Celebrity. But those who weren’t aware of the road trip passed by his spot on the highway and panicked. The company received over 500 phone calls asking where he was. Some of those callers were concerned, some were angry, and some were just all around lost. One driver called, confused, saying he was in some place called North Attleboro, and what the heck happened to the Big Blue Bug that was his signal to turn right toward Cape Cod? Now, there’s a rumor that it’s just about time for the Big Blue Bug to come down for another round of repairs, so heads up. You may need to rely on your GPS for a bit if you’re one of those people who bases directions solely on landmarks.
- I can’t imagine New England Pest Control could have anticipated how famous Nibbles would get. He’s been a massively successful marketing ploy. The company sells Big Blue Bug pens, bottle openers, plush toys. He’s been featured on hats and shirts even once on 1.25 million scratch tickets issued by the RI State Lottery Commission. Nibbles has appeared on TV, on the Today Show, the Oprah Winfrey Show, the Daily Show and Family Guy. And even on the Big Screen in the Dumb and Dumber movies. And he got so famous that the company actually changed their name to copy his. In 2012, New England Pest Control became Big Blue Bug Solutions to capitalize on their mascot’s success.
- I’ve always felt kind of mixed about Nibbles. While many love and cherish him, others say the big bug is kind of an eyesore. And, yeah, I’ll admit, I think it’s a little bit ugly. And at first, I didn’t really want to do this episode, because I thought, the Big Blue Bug is too familiar. It’s not a weird enough story. He’s too mainstream in Rhode Island. And just the fact that I thought a massive, 4,000 lb. blue termite wasn’t weird enough to feature highlights exactly how strange Rhode Island really is. In the absolute best way.
- That’s what makes the Big Blue Bug great: the way people feel about it. That’s what stands out. And really, that’s what makes anything great. So, I’ve had a change of heart. I’m totally bought in on this relationship Rhode Island has with the Big Blue Bug. And I like to picture all of those cars driving down I-95 as Nibble’s termite colony, his family. Like we’re all just a bunch of weird bugs, crawling along or zooming by.
- Thanks for listening! As always, all episodes are written and researched by me, Sara Corben. If you liked this episode, I would love it if you could share it with your family or friends, or you can send me a note at Weird Rhode Island at Gmail.com. And if there’s a topic you’d really like to hear about, let me know! See you next week as we dig up more stories about all things weird and wonderful in the little state of Rhode Island. Until next time!