WEBVTT - Your Weird Summer Travel Guide! 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:02.600 Guess what, mango, what's that? Well, I'm not sure if 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:04.920 you've ever been to the Secret Museum in New York City, 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:07.880 there's a secret museum. Yeah, it's hidden in this elevator shaft, 0:00:07.920 --> 0:00:11.000 and it's pretty incredible. Each shelf has considered its own 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:13.720 wing of the museum and they have all sorts of 0:00:13.760 --> 0:00:16.599 weird things in there, from vintage magazines to a gallery 0:00:16.600 --> 0:00:19.240 of weird toothpaste from around the world, to the shoe 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:22.200 that was supposedly thrown at George Bush at that Iraqi presscout. 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:26.040 It's so strange, and it's all hiding in this tiny, 0:00:26.120 --> 0:00:29.160 hidden museum that commuters just walked past all the time. 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:32.159 It's strange how many like little museums and galleries there 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:34.239 are hiding all around us. Like I feel like I 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.080 only learned about this micro toy museum in my neighborhood 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:39.800 when it showed up on my son's Pokemon Go So 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.879 that thing did prove useful for very The crazy thing 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:45.560 is they're actually more museums in the country than Starbucks 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:49.040 and McDonald's combined. Like, according to the Washington Post, they're 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:52.360 over thirty five thousand museums in this country and they 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:56.040 cover every conceivable topic, from a forest fire museum in 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:58.960 Idaho to a museum of maritime pets and a Naples 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:01.480 Maritime Pets. I really want that museum to just be 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:04.600 a giant gallery of parrots owned by famous bucking Pretty 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:06.360 sure that's what it is. We have to check it out, 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:08.720 but doesn't it feel like a waste? I mean, if 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:11.280 there are that many museums hiding all around us, shouldn't 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:13.480 we be taking advantage of them? So that's what we're 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:16.160 gonna do in this episode. We're creating a weird summer 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:19.760 travel guide filled with obscure places that deserve way more attention. 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:45.479 What do you say we dive in? Y Hey, their 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:48.320 podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:50.360 and as always I'm joined by my good friend mangesh 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:53.080 Hot Ticketer, and today we're talking about finding ways to 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:55.680 fit in a little weirdness into your summer. So, as 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:57.560 you know Mango, a few weeks ago, while we were 0:01:57.560 --> 0:02:00.360 recording a few episodes, my wife and kids we're doing 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:02.720 their annual trip with three or four other moms and 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:05.720 a herd of kids the Great Smoky Mountains. They go 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.800 in the camp there for three nights in Elkmont, Tennessee. 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:11.440 And it's not just for the camping. It's because there's 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:14.560 a species of firefly that light up in synchrony. That's right, 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:18.960 synchronized fireflies, and it only happens for about two weeks 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:21.560 in June. Just two weeks, like that's such a short 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.440 window it is, but it sounds magnificent and it's one 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:26.280 of the only places in the world where you can 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:28.240 see them. There have been some others found in the 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:31.680 swamps of South Carolina and some other areas of the Appalachians, 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:33.480 but this has become such a big deal in the 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:36.280 Smokies that the camp sites at Elkmont booked up a 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.400 year and advance. But during the second week in June 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:41.200 you can take a trolley up to the area and 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:43.720 see the fireflies, even if you're not a camper. That's 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:45.799 something I definitely want to see. Well, that's what got 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:48.360 me thinking summer may have already started, but it's not 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:50.840 too late to find lots of other unique and weird 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:52.960 things to see and do around the country before the 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:55.280 season ends. Definitely not and to help us find some 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:57.840 of the most interesting off the beaten path places and 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.400 events around the country. We turned to our ends at 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:03.280 one of our favorite websites, Atlas Obscura. Now, if you 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:05.480 don't know Atlas Obscura, you've got to check it out. 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:07.560 And in a bit we'll be joined by Dylan Thuriss, 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:09.440 one of the founders, to hear about some of his 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:11.760 favorite spots. And I'm sure you've got a ridiculous quiz 0:03:11.760 --> 0:03:14.079 ready for two lucky people. Of course, who are we 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:16.240 gonna have on the line today. Well, we've got a 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:19.960 travel team, so we've got to travel agents from Virginia 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:24.840 and they'll be joining us to play weird world laws. Okay, well, 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:26.960 let's get started. So we know it can sometimes be 0:03:27.040 --> 0:03:29.799 tough to schedule around exact dates that we'll still get 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:32.160 to a few awesome festivals later on in the episode, 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:34.480 but let's start with some places you can go to 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:37.480 pretty much any week. And because we love museums that 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:40.720 are focused on very specific things, I think we should 0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:42.480 kick this off with a few of those. I see 0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:44.680 you've made a big list here, Mango. Yeah, I've got 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:47.160 this list of a hundred thirty one must see museums 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:50.320 around the country right now. Well, that's great, but I'm 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:52.480 not sure we have time for a hundred and thirty 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:55.120 one places, and in fact, you're moving from Brooklyn to 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:59.160 Atlanta this summer, barely even getting a summer. So why 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:01.800 don't you say, why don't we pick eight and we'll 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.120 talk about those. I'm gonna cut my list off right here, 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:08.440 and let's begin right here on the East Coast and 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:11.480 start with the museum dedicated to one of my favorite instruments, 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:14.680 the kazoo. I'm talking about the Kazoo Museum at the 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:18.800 Kazoobi Kazoo Factory in Baufort, South Carolina. Did you know 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:21.159 the kazoo is actually one of the only homegrown instruments 0:04:21.200 --> 0:04:23.040 in the US. All Right, Well, while I can't say 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.840 I'm an expert on weird instrument history, I actually do 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:27.960 know this one because of its origin. So a few 0:04:27.960 --> 0:04:30.440 episodes ago, you got to share lots of fun facts 0:04:30.480 --> 0:04:32.960 about your home state of Delaware. So I feel like 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:35.520 it's my turn to recognize some of the very important 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:38.400 facts about my home state of Alabama. I don't know 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:40.640 if you've noticed, but we come from some pretty influential 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:43.200 states here, Mary. But I know this one because the 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.840 kazoo was invented by an Alabama vest and clockmaker. Thaddius 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.040 von Klegg almost two hundred years ago. That's right. And 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:51.760 do you think we're going to be the first podcast 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:56.000 to mention a clockmaker from Alabama? Probably? So? But did 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:58.520 you know that the kazoo is also known as the 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:02.880 down South summer? Good God, no, I didn't. Now I 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:04.800 feel bad for running away from that man who asked 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:06.960 if I wanted to check out his down South submarine. 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:11.160 This sounds like a really fun museum. By the way, 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:13.320 did you know the kazoo is sometimes called the most 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:18.120 democratic of all instruments because they're cheap and approachable and 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:21.159 basically anyone can just pick one up and play it immediately. 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:24.159 There's this avant garde piece from the nineteen seventies called 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:27.600 With a Hundred Kazoos, and audience members are given kazoos 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:30.800 to accompany a little orchestra of real musicians, and they 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:34.280 don't sound bad because kazoos are that easy. All right, 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:36.039 But let's move on. Where do we go from Beauford, 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:39.039 South Carolina. Let's head one state up to North Carolina 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:40.960 to a museum. I have to admit I didn't even 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:43.040 know existed when we went to college in the state. 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:46.640 It's the Museum of the Alphabet in Waxhaw, North Carolina. 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.280 And what happens at the Museum of the Alphabet, Well, 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:51.760 it started out as a project intended to translate the 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:54.640 Bible into as many languages as possible, But even if 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:57.920 that's not your interest, it's a pretty fascinating project. It's 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:00.480 really a celebration of the history of the written language. 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:04.480 Their twelve galleries dedicated to individual languages or families, languages 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:07.680 from Greek to Hebrew to African languages. But I think 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:10.039 what's most interesting about it is the focus on minority 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:12.760 languages that are only spoken by a small number of people, 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:15.880 and they might be going extinct if they're not preserved. 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:18.400 I remember seeing a fact somewhere that of the seven 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:21.159 thousand languages in the world, about a third of those 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:24.200 lack a written alphabet. So all of those would definitely 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:26.599 be at risk of being lost completely if people stopped 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:29.520 speaking them. Yeah, my family actually speaks a tiny dialect 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:32.400 of a language called Cockney, which doesn't have its own script, 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:34.680 and it was great growing up because it's basically like 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:37.160 a secret language that I had just with my parents. 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:40.039 There are so few speakers, but it's really not that 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:42.560 useful if you're trying to get around India. But it's 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:44.720 fascinating that the Museum of the Alphabet is really trying 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:47.160 to preserve languages, and one of the ones they focused 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:50.120 on is that of the Gala communities of South Carolina, Georgia, 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:52.680 and Florida. It's a creole language of some of the 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:55.720 African American populations in the coastal region, and it was 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:58.719 developed out of several West African languages in the sixteenth 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:01.640 and seventeen centuries as a way for slaves of different 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:04.560 backgrounds to communicate with one another. It's so interesting. I 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:07.200 definitely want to check this place out. Well. While you're there, 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:08.880 you can also see how your name would look and 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:12.200 cling on, so that's pretty cool too. Actually, that reminds 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:13.640 me of the time you and I went to speak 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:16.320 to the employees at Google and Mountain View, California. Remember 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:19.280 this trip definitely. Because we'd heard they were so smart, 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:21.280 we decided to put them to the test and had 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:25.160 a few language experts create the world's geekiest crossword puzzle. 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.400 So every answer was in a constructed language like cling 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:31.679 on and Elvish and Esperanto, and we told them whoever 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:34.760 completed it would get a free T shirt. Not only 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:36.720 did we run out of T shirts because so many 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:39.760 of them completed it, but they were correcting our grammatical 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:45.360 mistakes and these constructed languages, so I guess they are. Yeah, 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:49.360 it's okay. So another fascinating spot. Where two next? Well, 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:51.120 there are two other spots in the South before we 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:53.440 head up to the northeast. The first is right here 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:57.080 in Georgia, in Statesboro at the Georgia Southern Campus. It's 0:07:57.120 --> 0:07:59.840 the U S National Tick Collection and it's the largest 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.400 election of its kind in the world. Wow. This definitely 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:04.280 seems fitting for this time of year when we're all 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:06.400 searching for ticks after we go for a hike, and 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.360 especially that one that makes people vegetarian because it gives 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:12.000 you an intolerance to eating meat. How weird is that? 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:15.320 I know, it's like the meat lobby's nightmare, But how 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:17.400 big could this tick collection be? Or there really that 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:20.080 many kinds of ticks out there? I was so surprised. 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:22.920 They have over a million specimen and there are eight 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:27.200 hundred sixty species of these bloodsuckers collected from all seven continents. 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:29.840 I just opened the website here and I see that 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:31.640 They're open just a couple of days a week for 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:34.040 a couple hours each, so you definitely need to plan 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:36.680 in advance. And this collection is actually owned by the 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.960 Smithsonian Institution. That's pretty cool. And my other spot in 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:44.679 the South is in Scottsboro, Alabama. Yes, another Alabama fact. 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:46.400 And I know this one, so please let me talk 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:48.000 about it. I mean, you owe me after all the 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:51.400 Delaware facts and the tax savings issue. Okay, the floor 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:54.240 is yours. So this is the Unclaimed Baggage Center in 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:57.000 North Alabama. And it's not technically a museum, but it 0:08:57.160 --> 0:08:59.559 might as well be. It's where every piece of lost 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:03.000 luggage from around the country goes. It's a forty thousand 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.079 square foot facility and they take all the best stuff 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:08.520 from the lost luggage they acquire from the airlines and 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:10.599 put it on sale there. How weird is that? Is 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.520 so weird? And it's been around since the seventies. I 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:15.960 think it was an insurance salesman who decided to buy 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:18.920 on claim luggage from a bus station first, and then 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:21.319 he'd set up shops somewhere and sell all this stuff. 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.200 This was all before you expanded into the airline world. 0:09:24.240 --> 0:09:27.160 And there are literally millions of items passing through there 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.800 every year. Have you actually ever bought anything from there? Where? 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:33.320 Do you think I got this awesome American flag cowboy hats? Anyway, 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:35.520 it's definitely worth a visit, if only just to see 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:38.040 the weirdness of all the stuff people have lost. Well, 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:40.080 the unusual thing to me, too, is that it isn't 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:42.200 just a pile of junk like from what I've read. 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:44.760 It's actually kind of a nice shopping experience. Yeah, they've 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:47.080 got a guest services desk with a concierge who can 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:49.360 help you find some great dining options in the city. 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:52.360 They'll provide you with personal shoppers. They even have someone 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:54.800 take care of your pet while you rummage. It's a 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:57.480 full service thrift shop. But thanks for letting me talk 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:59.680 about it. I think it's what that's four places now 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:02.280 where two necks. Well, I figured I knowed you. But 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.840 we've done a little music, some language, some bugs, and 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:08.640 I think we deserve a break. So we're gonna head 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:10.920 up north where we can kick back, hand our kids 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:12.839 some quarters and then ignore them for a while. Will 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:17.000 be bask in the warm globe screen. Nice. Actually, these 0:10:17.040 --> 0:10:20.040 are two different places, but they're very much related. The 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:22.959 first is a dream spot for retro arcade nerds. It's 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:26.440 called the American Classic Arcade Museum in Laconia, New Hampshire, 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:29.680 and according to Guinness, it's the largest arcade in the world. Wow. 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:31.599 So it's a museum, but you can also play the 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:34.400 games they have. Definitely there are hundreds, and the focus 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:36.640 is on many of the classic coin operated games that 0:10:36.679 --> 0:10:39.040 were so popular before there was a significant shift in 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:41.960 the eighties and early nineties to the more violent stuff. Okay, 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:44.120 now I'm looking at their website and I see they 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:47.319 not only have the Kiss that's the band pinball machine, 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:51.440 but also the Harlem Globe Trotters machine. And I see 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:54.199 we missed something called bro Fest. I feel like I'm 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:56.800 okay with that, though I might prefer to visit when 0:10:56.800 --> 0:10:59.720 it's not bro Fest whatever that is. Yeah, I'm pretty 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:03.280 sure Profest is like a big networking event for professionals 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:06.040 from all over the Glober of course. But speaking of 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:09.120 pinball machines, that's the perfect segue into the other half 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:11.480 of this thing we're pretending is one visit, and that's 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:14.920 the Pinball Hall of Fame and Museum in Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania. 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:18.120 They have four hundred vintage games and pinball machines, with 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.520 over twelve hundred more in storage. Actually love the history 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:23.560 of pinball. It's so weird. So did you know that 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:26.880 after pinball was invented in the nineteen thirties, Mayor LaGuardia 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:29.360 You know, the one that New York's least successible airport 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:32.240 by public transit is named after. Anyway, he had more 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:35.680 than two thousand pinball machines confiscated in the early nineteen 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:38.960 forties because they were considered gambling machines. Yeah. This this 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:42.120 classic photo of him holding a sledgehammer winding back, getting 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:45.079 ready to go after one. It's a tough guy to 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:47.560 destroy a penball machine. But yeah, I really do want 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.079 to see this place. So Pennsylvania. All right, Well, before 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:52.120 we head to our next destination, what do you say 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:53.880 we take a little detour and talk to one of 0:11:53.880 --> 0:12:03.720 our favorite adventure lovers. Dylan Thoris is our old friend 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:06.520 and co founder of Atlas Obscura, a definitive guide to 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:09.680 the world's most wondrous and curious places. In addition to 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:12.960 cataloging the world's wonders and web and book form, Atlas 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:15.560 has also hosted incredible events where you can meet wolves 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:20.360 at bars, explore subterranean graveyards, learned lock picking from expert locksmiths, 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:23.599 and even hawaduet with a given. It's truly one of 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:25.640 our favorite sites to get lost in. And we're so 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:28.760 excited to have him here today. Welcome Dylan. Hey, thanks 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:30.640 for having me one, and I guess it's so exciting 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:32.840 to be here. All right, all right, So Dylan, tell 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.640 us a little bit about how you found it. Alice Obscura. Yeah, 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.920 so I met Josh, my co founder, way back in 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:42.720 my two thousand and seven and uh, I was about 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:46.120 to go on a big trip moving to Hungry to 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:49.959 Budapest for a year, and we we're done through the 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:54.400 previous projects about ideas of wonder and discovery, and we 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.360 started talking about travel and the kind of place that 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:58.959 we like to find and how difficult it could be 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:03.160 actually to find these sort of tiny museums or you know, uh, 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.160 collections of mummies or or the sort of stuff that 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:10.040 really like stuck with you when you when you traveled someplace. 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:13.640 So basically it came out of a desire to create 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:16.600 a database of that kind of stuff for ourselves as 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:18.520 travelers and we thought, you know, I bet you there's 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:21.520 tons of people out there who know that's some incredible 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:23.880 place that they grew up next to or they happened 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.240 upon on a trip, and we should make a kind 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:30.119 of a place where people can put those incredible locations. 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:33.120 And so that's how it started. And living in Eastern Europe, 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:35.559 I traveled around and started finding in some of these 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:39.520 things myself, and then into nine we launched Alice Obscia 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:41.800 and it's always been a kind of open platform where 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:44.360 people can submit a place. And so yeah, to this day, 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:47.520 people still send stuff in this list totally mind boggling 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.880 that you've never heard of. So how do you make 0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:53.600 time in your life to explore with a diddy job 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:55.720 and all this other stuff? Yeah, I mean, I think 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:59.560 one of the thesis statements of Alice Obscara is that 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:03.120 you can find incredible wonders, you know, around the corner 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:05.040 from you, that you don't have to travel around the world. 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:09.040 And so a lot of times it's just trying to 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:11.840 be really curious about what is already around you. It's 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:15.160 sort of if you see something unusual that you drive by, 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:17.760 it's like taking the time to stop and knock on 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:21.480 the door or see if you can get in somehow. Um. 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:24.359 You know, I recently moved and so I've been exploring 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:27.240 this area around where I live, and I found out 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:30.080 that there's a you know, maybe a minute from me, 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:35.760 there's a gigantic, huge mind that is open to the 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:37.800 public that you can just kind of walk into and 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:41.880 they host like concerts there. Sometimes it's really incredible and 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:45.480 it's it's always surprising. What's you know, just uh right 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:48.360 around the corner from you. Wow, that's pretty cool. We're 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:51.320 talking in this episode about several of the odd ball 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:54.560 museums around the country, and you know, man guests came 0:14:54.640 --> 0:14:57.360 up with a pretty awesome list of this And do 0:14:57.400 --> 0:14:59.880 you have any favorite museums around the country you would 0:14:59.880 --> 0:15:02.440 se just for our our listeners to to check out 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:06.280 this summer. Yeah, sure, I mean, if we're going to 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:10.360 sort of keep it specifically unusual museums. Um, there's a 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:14.360 few really good ones obviously. Uh, this is a really 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:17.240 well known one. But the Muter Museum or Mutter Museum 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:22.640 in Philadelphia is America's greatest medical museum, and it is 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:29.760 just an incredible collection of skulls and wax faces with 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:34.040 the horrible skin diseases. It's not you know, it's not 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:35.680 for the weak of stomach if you have if you're 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:37.880 not comfortable with that kind of stuff, it's probably like 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:42.160 you might wanna take it so low. But it really 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:45.160 is an unbelievable museum. And it's really an example of 0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:47.800 a kind of museum that was more prevalent than sort 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:51.040 of mentally eighteen hundreds and still exists all over Europe. 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:52.880 They just aren't very many of them there in the US. 0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:59.600 And them is an incredible museum. Um, it's questionable if 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:01.840 you can call on a museum exactly. But but one 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:05.760 of the places that started me on this whole journey 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.920 this path is a place in Wisconsin called the House 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:12.040 on the Rock. Uh. And the House on the Rock 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:16.200 is kind of a like a legendary tourists stop. It's 0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:18.280 it's tucked back in the woods of Wisconsin. If you 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:20.720 weren't kind of told about it or hadn't heard of it, 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:22.920 you wouldn't have any reason you wouldn't kind of sort 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:26.360 of stumble across it. But what it is is it 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:28.880 started out as a one man's kind of architectural project. 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:30.960 This sort of at least a myth is that it 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:33.920 was a screw you to Frankloyd Right that this guy 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:35.400 went to work for Frank wood Right and he told 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:38.040 him I wouldn't hire you to build a Chicken Cooper 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:40.320 and she's great, and the guy said, I'm going to 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:43.400 go build the greatest Frank Lloyd Right house ever. So 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:48.160 it's this weird off brand Frankloyd Right house. And whether 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:51.160 whether myth is true or not, I mean it's almost 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:54.320 certainly not, but it works and you definitely, it definitely 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:58.640 is a very sort of Frank Lloyd Wrong vibe as 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:02.360 you as you go through. Over time, this house sort 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:05.280 of started acquiring other collections and other museums and they 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:09.679 attached this enormous set of warehouses sort of buried in 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:11.800 the forest, and you really can't tell how big the 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:14.399 place is. You start going through it, and it takes 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:18.159 like five hours to go through. And inside of this 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:23.159 house is a whale sculpture of a whale fighting a 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:25.479 squid that is the size of the Statue of Liberty. 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:29.720 It's like my house. The world largest carousel is in 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:33.879 the house with the world's most diverse collection of carousel animals. Uh. 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:36.160 The house is actually it's a it's a big set 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:40.080 piece in Neo Demon's book American Gods, and he has 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:42.119 said on the record that he had to tone down 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.159 the craziness of the House on the Rock because no 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:48.560 one would believe, even though it's a book of fantastical picture, 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:51.359 that the actual house is too much, too intent. So 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:53.480 that I went to the place and I was like twelve, 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:55.240 on a road trip with my parents, and it kind 0:17:55.240 --> 0:17:59.440 of set me on this path in a way. And 0:17:59.480 --> 0:18:01.200 there's another big day coming up, and I've seen you 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:03.959 guys are promoting it on the website as well. On 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:07.520 August twenty one is the complete solar eclipse. So tell 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:09.639 us a little bit about how you guys are celebrating 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:12.120 this and where you will be on that day. Yeah, 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:16.760 I am so so freaking excited about this. So you know, 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.880 August August one is going to be like this once 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:24.040 in a lifetime celestial experience, total solar eclipse cutting across 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:29.040 almost the entire uh United States. And you know, short 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:31.199 of traveling all over the world, there are these eclipse 0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:34.760 chasers who basically go all around the world seeking kind 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.400 of the next grade eclipse. For most people in the US, 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:39.720 this will be their best chance to see a total 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:42.240 solar eclipse and at least for you know, forty some years. 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:46.560 So we are having a big three day party out 0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:50.399 in kind of rural Oregon, in an area that's, uh 0:18:50.640 --> 0:18:52.800 weather wise, is thought to have one of the best 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:55.320 chances of getting a totally clear view of the eclipse. 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:59.320 And we've got Science Friday from NPR coming out. We've 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:02.600 got a ton of musicians and performers. We have the 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:07.959 Sun Raw Orchestra performing sort of themed uh themed celestial 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:11.680 act and it's just going to be a celebration of 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:15.080 kind of the science, the wonder and the beauty of 0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:19.199 this this natural event that's awesome. Me and me and 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:23.119 the fam will will be out there. Yeah, it'll be good. Well, 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:25.359 that's gonna be great. We're gonna be watching it from 0:19:25.400 --> 0:19:27.680 from Nashville, which is I know, in the band that's 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:30.680 supposed to see it, so so not quite as remote 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:33.159 as you will be. But I've already purchased my solar 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:38.320 eclipse viewing glasses. Excited for that, but almost as exciting 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:40.800 as this is the quiz that we're about to take. 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.560 So ango, what what game is still employing today? This 0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:46.320 is a game called trucking in puns and It's based 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:50.280 on Atlas Obscure, as incredible catalog of crowdsourced penny titled 0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:54.919 food trucks trucking in puns. I like it. So basically, 0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:58.080 we're going to take an incredible food truck name and 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:00.359 give you a clue and you have to tell us 0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:02.720 it's punny name. So don't worry. This will be fun 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:05.200