41°17′26″N 96°09′32″W / 41.290605°N 96.159025°W / 41.290605; -96.159025 The West Maple Omaha Rock (nicknamed Rocko,[1][2] also referred to as the west Omaha rock and similar names) is a boulder located in a parking lot at the corner of West Maple Road and North 156th Street in north-western Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It became the subject of significant online discourse as well as a local tourist attraction in late 2019 after over a dozen vehicle owners drove on top of it. This included at least six that had to be towed within six weeks. The rock was originally placed on a curb to prevent people from driving over it; however, it was sloped such that it was often not visible to taller automobiles and would get stuck between their wheels.[1][3][4][5][6] A Facebook group dedicated to the rock, "The W Maple Omaha Rock", was created by employees of a nearby UPS Store and had over 25,000 followers in November 2019; a subreddit and Google Maps listing were also created.[2]

In January 2021, the rock was repositioned such that it was no longer sloped towards the road and a tree was planted near it to catch drivers' attention.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Alfonso, Fernando (November 9, 2019). "A rock in Omaha became an overnight attraction thanks to the cars that can't seem to avoid it". CNN. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Wray, Meaghan (November 12, 2019). "'World famous': Omaha boulder gets 5-star Google review after cars keep driving over it". Global News. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  3. Wade, Jessica (October 29, 2019). "A true rock star: Cars keep getting stuck on a famous boulder in Omaha". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  4. Barker, Eleanor (November 12, 2019). "Rock in Omaha becomes overnight attraction thanks to the cars that can't avoid it". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  5. "The Northwest Omaha boulder strikes again". KETV. November 5, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  6. Pearson, Lileana (October 17, 2019). "Parking lot rocks cause problems for drivers at Omaha shopping plaza". WOWT. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  7. Pearson, Lileana (January 15, 2021). "West Omaha Rock sports changes". WOWT. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
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