Photo: #Mr. Clean, the human incarnation of the Proctor and Gamble mascot, was summoned to the Mall of America to help demolish the world's largest gingerbread house.
Photo: #The world's largest gingerbread house was unveiled on November 24, 2006. More than 225,000 people made their way through the sweet structure during the holiday season.
Photo: #Most demolition sites are covered with nails and chunks of drywall. This one is coated with chocolate bars and stale gumdrops.
Photo: #Workers hauled away loads of dismantled gingerbread. The house was comprised of over 14,000 pounds of gingerbread and one ton of candy embellishments.
Photo: #In addition to the official Mr. Clean, the demolition crew included of a handful of Mr. Clean look-alikes. The job required that workers be bald and willing to wear white pants and a gold earring.
Photo: #A pair of Mr. Cleans removes drywall and lots of hardened frosting.
Photo: #The house's windows were adorned with red Twizzlers. The frames were trimmed with Tootsie Rolls.
Photo: #A Mr. Clean doppelganger scrapes chunks of gingerbread from the side of the house. The gingerbread siding was held in place with nearly 5000 pounds of icing.
Photo: #According to Proctor and Gamble, Mr. Clean's image is supposed to be that of a sailor. However, the company says he's often confused for a genie because of his earring and "his tendency to magically appear at the appropriate time." These days, Mr. Clean is always seen with a big smile on his face. But for a brief time in the 1960s, Proctor and Gamble's packaging showed Mr. Clean frowning.
Larger view
Mr. Clean, the human incarnation of the Proctor and Gamble mascot, was summoned to the Mall of America to help demolish the world's largest gingerbread house. (MPR Photo / Nikki Tundel)
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Bringin' down the house

by Nikki Tundel, Minnesota Public Radio
January 5, 2007

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St. Paul, Minn. — So you built the world's largest gingerbread house. You covered it with 4,700 pounds of icing, 1,200 feet of licorice and 1,800 chocolate bars. And you put it on display at the Mall of America for the holiday season.

What do you do with the thing after all the pictures are taken and the officials from the Guinness Book of World Records go home?

Apparently, you call Mr. Clean and turn the demolition of the candy cottage into a public relations extravaganza.

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