News from the offbeat tourist attraction landscape of Roadside America.
Sightings Vol. 12, No. 4 - May 10, 2016
Sightings

Tetanus Shots

At Old Car City USA, photographers flock to capture beauty in a forest containing thousands of decaying vehicles. The highway derelicts remind us of a time before seat belts, when gas was cents a gallon, and blood poisoning was a badge of honor for bumping down the highway in the back of a rusty pickup truck.

The history of each car corpse is unknown, but surely some survived epic journeys, climbed mountain roads, raced along beaches, traversed deserts. Did this 1930s Chrysler carry bank robbers or G-men? Was its rotted bench seat where an impulsive ancestor started a family?

Perhaps our own fuel efficient jitneys will elegantly decay in the woods for future generations to ponder. But those generations will already know we spent our time taking snapshots of junk cars, so they probably won't bother.

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Glorious Propaganda, Comrades!

Museum of International Propaganda.

A just opened California museum presents the art of mind control and mass manipulation, a collection of 20th century visual propaganda from around the world. For budding despots, the Museum of International Propaganda is divided into helpful sections, such as "Idealization of the Leader of the State" and "Veneration of the Military." Story

Town Boulder of Doom

Chained Rock.

A large chain bolted to an even larger rock at the top of a mountain has spared the little town below from utter destruction. Or so the tale goes about Kentucky's Chained Rock. Story

Concrete, Beer Bottles, and a Dream

Fred Smith's Concrete Park.

No one knows what was in Fred Smith's head when he built hundreds of cement people outside his Wisconsin bar. Not even Fred. He's dead, but the petrified mob in Fred Smith's Concrete Park survives to mystify new generations of admirers. Story

Literary Chills in Twain Town

Mark Twain Sights.

Mark Twain, master of horror! The 19th century scribe terrifies today's travelers in the eerie Mark Twain family dummy room in Hannibal, Missouri's Haunted House, and with the towering, open-mouthed Twain guarding the highway into town. Story

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Take The Lincoln Bypass

Presidents Quest.

The funeral train for modern American politics stops at every station, but we're more selective. Our campaign-long Presidents Quest Road Trip takes us to New York to see a tooth that fell out of George Washington's head; to South Dakota, for the Street Corner Presidents of Rapid City; and Iowa, for what may be the world's most creepy presidential gift.

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Spotted by Tipsters

Largest Axe.

Big in Canada: Tipster Lady Amanda dispatched essential attraction photos from her road trip in Canada. Not enough Lower 48 dwellers venture there, even though it's full of large statues (such as the World's Largest Axe). Perhaps after Nov. 2nd?

Largest Bowie Knife.

World's Largest Bowie Knife: Wait! We're not done with sharp accessories for giants. This new knife sculpture slashes and stabs at our driving bliss in Texas. Thanks to Not So Funny Looking for looking.

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

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Did Our Social Stream Splatter You?

Facebook sign.

With only so much time, and many ways to connect with fans of offbeat roadside attractions, we make tough choices. So do you. Sightings newsletter? We catch up and coax you over to the website (plenty of new and great content). Facebook? Its accursed algorithm hides posts, but 20 billion users say "Hi mom!" Instagram? Good place to share a new photo, or an old photo with new filter effects to make it look really old. Twitter? Your as-it-happens #hash#tag #pipe#line of news and events. You Tube? It requires too much effort to make a good daily video — but here's one of the Old Car City USA theme song. Clap along if you want more!

We appreciate your continuing interest and participation!

*****


Keep on rustin', America!
The RoadsideAmerica.com Team

Apps & Tools

Roadside America iPhone app Roadside America for iPhone
11,000+ USA/Canada offbeat attractions, including research targets, interactive "Near Me" maps. New places added frequently! New categories, top-rated recommendations, and more!

$2.99 on the App Store (incl. access to 1 region); addtl. regions or "All Access" unlock is optional in-app purchase.
iPhone, iPod touch (iPad compatible)

*****

Roadside Presidents iPhone app

Roadside Presidents App for iPhone
US Presidents, VPs, First Ladies, even dastardly assassins -- visit where they lived, worked, played, died!

$2.99 iPhone, iPod touch, (iPad compatible). Available on the App Store.

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Roadside America iPhone app My Sights Route Planner - Save places you read about on Roadside America, create a trip, and then email it to friends or export a .cvs file to upload onto a GPS device (Garmin, TomTom, etc.). Learn more and try it!

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Main image: Old Car City, USA, White, Georgia