Time To Give Winter The Boot

We know that Spring has arrived when we hear the reassuring drip-drip-drip of North America's Boy and the Boot fountains, their leaky footwear finally freed of Winter "toejam" ice. There's a lot of conflicting intel about the secretive kids, so we've created a Boy and the Boot Roundup -- a sort of wiki-leaks -- to lay it all out, as well as a map so you can visit them all, from Houlton, Maine, to Fresno, California.

Pirates Stink

What did it smell like to be a pirate? You've probably never asked yourself that question, but it's answered at the Pirate and Treasure Museum in St. Augustine, a city that was sacked twice by odious and odiferous buccaneers. Also informative: the museum's Shot in the Gut display.

50 Million Mice Attack!

The West Kern Oil Museum has a little exhibit like no other, because no other town has had to battle an invasion by 50 million mice. “They ate an entire sheep in its pen.” With rubber rodents, the Mouse House display provides a glimpse of the scurrying residential nightmare.

Obsessive Collection: Autographed Baseballs

Spring Training baseball in Florida is already wrapping up -- but the World's Largest Collection of Autographed Baseballs is there year-round. You might be surprised by who's taken the time to sign baseballs: Richard Nixon, Fidel Castro, Vanilla Ice, Marilyn Monroe....

Jelly Roll Morton was a Zombie

...but not the kind that eats people. The jazz pioneer died because no one fed his soul, which was kept in a jar -- similar to the one displayed in New Orleans' Voodoo Museum, which is where we learned that piece of trivia. If you visit, bring spare change to offer to the human skulls.

Spotted by Tipsters

Spotty's Glowing Spots: Any dog 19 feet tall is worth your attention, but "Spot" in Shreveport, Louisiana, sports spots that glow at night. Three different tipsters reported Spot on the same day, and Casey J.'s night snap shows full-on splotch mode.

Uniroyal Gal Factory?: Out in a field in North Carolina, Uniroyal Gals are multiplying at a noticeable clip. Bob K. reports that the Gals' owners are cranking them out, in basic or customized versions, for anyone who can afford to own a 20-foot woman.

Frankenstein!: The World's Largest Small Appliance Museum is worthy of its title, writes Lindsay B. One showpiece among its collection of 7,000+ coffee pots, hair dryers, and waffle irons is its "hot dog electrocuter," which can roast five wieners at once.

Stick Your Head in This: An artist in New Mexico has elevated the classic head-in-the-hole roadside photo op into a themed art attraction. Courtney S. stopped by and experienced what it was like to be become another person -- in the 2-D plywood universe.

For more fun discoveries and updates from the road, head over to the Latest Tips.

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Latest News on Roadside America

At the World's Largest 6-Pack, King Gambrinus lost his sword arm when a reveler climbed him to pose for pals. A security cam captured the disastrous photo op. The World's Third Largest Loon will once again become the World's Largest Talking Loon; its voice box is being repaired (thanks to Tina B. for the tip). Mary Nohl’s Concrete Art House seemed destined for the bulldozers in 2014, but preservationists have decided that it will be saved as is. The Louisville Mega Cavern just opened the world’s only underground bike park, with 17 trails. Shea’s Route66 Museum fell into limbo ever since Bill Shea died in 2013; now his family is selling it off piece by piece. The boot of the giant cowboy Tex Randall made a cameo with a bikini model in the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Trinity, site of the world's first atomic explosion, was open to the public only one day a year (thanks to budget-slashing politicians); now it's open two days a year. Serial killer John Wayne Gacy’s clown suits have been added to the permanent galleries of the Crime Museum. The grave of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen, had been a popular with visitors to New Orleans, but now tourists need an official (paid) tour guide to let them into the cemetery. The producers of the TV series Breaking Bad have asked visitors to Walter White's house to please not throw pizzas onto its roof (A nice elderly real-world couple live there). The Tropicana casino in Las Vegas is scheduled to close in May; will the bronzed butts of the Crazy Girls be left behind?

Keep pace with important attraction updates on the Roadside America Twitter feed.

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Raise your boot high!
The RoadsideAmerica.com Team