from the LA Times
| A Baker, California businessman built the thermometer to attract visitors, which it has for 35 years. |
 The “World’s Tallest Thermometer” reads 115 degrees [46 C] during a 2024 heat wave in Baker, California. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) |
Residents of the 15 Freeway desert outpost of Baker, Calif., located about 94 miles [151 km] southwest of Las Vegas and 175 miles [282 km] northeast of Los Angeles, know it’s perpetually hot in their sun-drenched town.
For further verification of just how sweltering the day is, though, they can also peer toward their colossus: the 134-foot [41 metre] “World’s Tallest Thermometer.” ”The “Gateway to Death Valley” will range from a low of 111 degrees to a high of 118 over the next week.
While temperatures are only going up this summer, so too is hope for the thermometer’s future. The 35-year-old monument went up for sale in May for $1.85 million, leaving a town wondering if there would be takers for an icon whose fate often mirrored that of the desert oasis.
When summer comes to NZ, TV1 News could put it outside its building to proclaim how hot it is, although they may be disappointed.