Oh, I doubt it. I’ve seen the one at the Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur, India. (Be sure to scroll through all ten photos.) This was constructed in the early 18th century and was more accurate than the best contemporary optical instruments at Greenwich. We saw it on our trip to India to observe a total solar eclipse, as mentioned in my article on “Lunar Motions Expounded.”

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On further research, I see that your town’s sundial indeed is not the world’s largest, but claims to be the “world’s greatest”—a subjective claim at best. It does look quite impressive, though, not to mention totally cool. If I’m ever passing through downstate Illinois, I’ll go out of my way to check it out.

My reply to Argumentative Penguin below applies equally well to you, Michelle. (Well, except for the part about penguins not living in the Arctic . . . )