A gigantic, squishy, 250-lbs. red ball has been popping up all over town since the beginning of this month as a part of a traveling installation by Brooklyn-based artist Kurt Perschke.

Our first thought was that this might be some sort of Red Bull promotional stunt since it's only one vowel off (and some people thought it looked like a sex toy). It is a stunt, but it's actually being used to promote California's entry into the POWERBALL lottery on April 8. The campaign claims the lottery could generate $45-50 million for California schools and its motto is "Believe in Something Bigger."

So far the inflatable ball has popped up at The Edgemar Building, the Security Pacific Building and Los Angeles Theatre. Today it's supposed to pop up in Pershing Square from 11 am until 6 pm, and you can track other locations here. It will head up to San Francisco and end up in Sacramento on the first day of the draw April 10.

Here's an interview with the artist about how Perschke came up with the idea of Red Ball and where it's been (and The Telegraph has a gallery here):



Previously: FTW: Powerball Lottery Will Be in California in April!