Giant Cheeto goes live

Disc jockey Bryce Wilson inspects a large, misshapen Cheeto, which weighs 6/10ths of an ounce and is 2 inches in length. Story Tools RELATED Crunch! Giant Cheeto spurs online frenzy  • Frito-Lay  • Cheetos online  FACT BOX Cheetos were introduced by the Frito Company in 1948. Frito-Lay sells about 1 billion bags a of Cheetos a year. About 15 million pounds of cheese are used every year in making the snacks. That Cheeto keeps on giving and giving. -- Comedian Jimmy Kimmel on the giant Cheeto

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A motorcade with two sheriff's cars and a fire truck were part of the ceremony that helped unveil a giant Cheeto as a tourist attraction in northwest Iowa. The event culminated with the Cheeto's first live television appearance.

Bryce Wilson, 24, a disc jockey at KLGA-FM in Algona, arranged for the huge piece of snack food to be mailed from Hawaii and then set up a major event to unveil the Cheeto at a local restaurant.

The whole thing began as a way to have fun and make people laugh, Wilson said, adding that it really took off when ABC-TV's Jimmy Kimmel requested the unveiling be part of his live late-night talk show.

"It's just crazy, but I'm lovin' every minute of it," Wilson said. "We've had a lot of fun with this thing."

With a crowd of 200 chanting, "Cheeto, Cheeto," the cheesy lump made its debut.

"That is an amazingly large Cheeto," Kimmel said as his studio audience in Hollywood cheered.

The Cheeto appeared slightly smaller than a tennis ball and dwarfed a regular size piece of the snack food. It weighs only six-tenths of an ounce but has quite a girth, Wilson has said.

The Cheeto will be on permanent display in a glass case at Sister Sarah's Restaurant in Algona.

Frito-Lay, the Texas-based maker of Cheetos, donated items to be auctioned at the event. About $1,600 was raised for the Kossuth County food bank.

"That Cheeto keeps on giving and giving," Kimmel said when Wilson informed him of the charity amount.

Wilson said he first learned about the big Cheeto on a Web site while trying to find silly stories for his afternoon show.

Navy Petty Officer Mike Evans, stationed in Hawaii, bought a bag of Cheetos for his 3-year-old son and discovered the massive hunk of the cheesy food inside.

Evans tried to auction the Cheeto on e-Bay, but Wilson convinced him to give it to Algona, a town of 5,700 residents, as a tourist draw.

Story Tools		Subscribe to Time for $1.99

Father guilty of killing 9 of his children • Helicopter crashes near U.N. • Arrest in Aruba missing girl case • FDA panel OKs drug aimed at blacks

CNN/Money: Security alert issued for 40 million credit cards • Bin Laden deputy sends message • U.S. House votes to keep U.N. dues • Iran poll to go to run-off