Souvenirs

Meet John Doe, The Man Who Makes The Monsters

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

Do you want your very own plastic Braxton County Monster? You might find a used one online, but for a fresh model you have to go to the source: Braxton County, West Virginia.

How We Almost Lost Our Atomic Marbles

Sunday, May 8th, 2011

Richland, Washington (Home of “The Bombers”), has never shied from showing pride in its nuclear heritage. But its loyalty was recently tested when the local museum stopped selling “atomic marbles” in its gift shop.

Souvenirs: The Terror of Tiny Towns

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Cheap miniature metal buildings are a classic souvenir category. At one time they were made with actual metal — probably pewter — and often handily doubled as banks or salt and pepper shakers. Today they are most likely cast from polyresin with a faux-bronze finish. But they still generally sell in a reasonable $5-10 price [...]

The Last Temptation Of A Souvenir

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

If a tourist attraction succeeds, thrives, and endures long enough, it accumulates a storeroom full of old brochures and souvenirs. While many owners toss yesteryear’s marketing into the trash and merchandise into the 25 cent bins, some hold onto their creations. They open a “museum” about the attraction’s past, to put tourists in the proper [...]

Souvenir: Lincoln, The Great Emancigator

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

When it comes to Abe Lincoln, tourist attractions haven’t been shy in finding ways to cash in and merchandise. We’ve seen all manner of misshapen statuary of our 16th President, commemorative plates, paperweights, and trashy keepsakes. Unlike Elvis Presley, there is no surviving estate with a lawyer army to crush off-brand souvenirs. But Lincoln is [...]

“Sleepy Mexican” Gets Big And Crumbly, Becomes Art

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

Big rumblings from the Arizona/Mexican border, where a Canadian and Cuban artist labor to build a 12-foot-tall sand sculpture of a sombrero-shaded sleepy Mexican. Snoozing Senor salt and pepper shakers. The snoozing senor is “commonly found in tourist souvenirs,” according to a press release posted on artdaily.org. It’s not all that common, but it is [...]

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