WEBVTT - Your Weird Summer Travel Guide! 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:01.400 Guess what, mango, what's that? 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:03.320 Well, I'm not sure if you've ever been to the 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:06.400 Secret Museum in New York City. There's a secret museum. Yeah, 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:09.040 it's hidden in this elevator shaft, and it's pretty incredible. 0:00:09.400 --> 0:00:12.160 Each shelf is considered its own wing of the museum, 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:14.640 and they have all sorts of weird things in there, 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:17.640 from vintage magazines to a gallery of weird toothpaste from 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:20.400 around the world, to the shoe that was supposedly thrown 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.279 at George Bush at that Iraqi Press cow rest. It's 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:26.400 so strange, and it's all hiding in this tiny hidden 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:29.240 museum that commuters just walk past all the time. 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:32.199 It's strange how many like little museums and galleries there 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:34.279 are hiding all around us. Like I feel like I 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.200 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 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.320 that thing did prove useful very. 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:44.360 The crazy thing is they are actually more museums in 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:47.960 the country than Starbucks and McDonald's combined. Like, according to 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:51.120 the Washington Post, there are over thirty five thousand museums 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.840 in this country and they cover every conceivable topic, from 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.480 a forest fire museum in Idaho to a museum of 0:00:57.520 --> 0:00:59.760 maritime pets and a Napos maritime Pets. 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:02.040 I really want that museum to just be a giant 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:04.160 gallery of parrots owned by famous buccaneers. 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:05.840 I'm pretty sure that's what it is. We have to 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:08.280 check it out, but doesn't it feel like a waste? 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:10.480 I mean, if there are that many museums hiding all 0:01:10.520 --> 0:01:13.000 around us, shouldn't we be taking advantage of them? So 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:15.040 that's what we're going to do in this episode. We're 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:18.200 creating a weird summer travel guide filled with obscure places 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:20.720 that deserve way more attention. What do you say we 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:47.520 dive in? Hey, their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:49.600 I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:52.320 good friend Mangesh hot Ticketter, and today we're talking about 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:53.560 finding ways to fit. 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:55.040 In a little weirdness into your summer. 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:57.280 So, as you know, Mango, a few weeks ago, while 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.000 we were recording a few episodes, my wife and kids 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:02.200 were doing their annual trip with three or four other 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:05.000 moms and a herd of kids the Great Smoky Mountains. 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:08.480 They go in they 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 --> 0:02:14.600 a species of firefly that light up in synchrony. That's right, 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:19.000 synchronize fireflies. And it only happens for about two weeks 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:19.600 in June. 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:22.279 Just two weeks, like that's such a short window. 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:24.480 It is, but it sounds magnificent and it's one of 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:26.800 the only places in the world where you can see them. 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:28.760 There have been some others found in the swamps of 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:31.800 South Carolina and some other areas of the Appalachians, but 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:34.040 this has become such a big deal in the Smokies 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:36.600 that the camp sites at Elkmont book up a year 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:39.720 in advance. But during the second week in June you 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:41.480 can take a trolley up to the area and see 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:43.400 the fireflies, even if you're not a camper. 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:45.600 That's something I definitely want to see. Well, that's what 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:46.000 got me. 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:48.639 Thinking, somemer may have already started, but it's not too 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:51.200 late to find lots of other unique and weird things 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:53.760 to see and do around the country before the season ends. 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:55.480 Definitely not and to help us find some of the 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:58.640 most interesting off the beaten path places and events around 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:00.640 the country, we turn to our friends at one of 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:03.519 our favorite websites at liss Obscura. Now, if you don't 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:05.800 know atless Obscure, you've got to check it out. And 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:07.720 in a bit will be joined by Dylan Thuris, one 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:10.200 of the founders, to hear about some of his favorite spots. 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.120 And I'm sure you've got a ridiculous quiz ready for 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:12.919 two lucky people. 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:14.160 Of course, who are. 0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:15.240 We going to have on the line today. 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:18.680 Well, we've got a travel theme, so we've got two 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:21.160 travel agents from Virginia and they'll be joining us to 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:23.160 play weird world laws. 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:26.080 All right, Okay, well let's get started. So we know 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:29.040 it can sometimes be tough to schedule around exact dates 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:31.280 that we'll still get to a few awesome festivals later 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:33.919 on in the episode, but let's start with some places 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:36.520 you can go to pretty much any week. And because 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:39.680 we love museums that are focused on very specific things, 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:41.720 I think we should kick this off with a few 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:43.960 of those. I see you've made a big list here, Mango. 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:46.040 Yeah, I've got this list of one hundred and thirty 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:48.560 one must see museums around the country right now. 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:51.400 Well, that's great, but I'm not sure we have time 0:03:51.440 --> 0:03:53.840 for one hundred and thirty one places, and in fact, 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:56.720 you're moving from Brooklyn to Atlanta this summer. Yeah, I'm 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:59.920 barely even getting a summer. So why don't you say, 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:02.480 why don't we pick eight and we'll talk about those. 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:06.800 I'm gonna cut my list off right here. Okay, let's 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:08.800 begin right here on the East Coast and start with 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:12.760 the museum dedicated to one of my favorite instruments, the kazoo. Whoa, 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:15.760 I'm talking about the Kazoo Museum at the Kazoobi Kazoo 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:18.880 Factory in Bocher at South Carolina. Did you know the 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:21.279 kazoo is actually one of the only homegrown instruments in 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:21.719 the US. 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:23.719 All right, Well, while I can't say I'm an expert 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:26.480 on weird instrument history, I actually do know this one 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:28.880 because of its origin. So a few episodes ago, you 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:31.080 got to share lots of fun facts about your home 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:33.799 state of Delaware. So I feel like it's my turn 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:36.200 to recognize some of the very important facts about my 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:38.960 home state of Alabama. I don't know if you've noticed, 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:41.640 but we come from some pretty influential states here, Mayory. 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:44.240 But I know this one because the kazoo was invented 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:47.960 by an Alabama vest and clockmaker, Thaddeus von Klegg, almost 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:49.240 two hundred years ago. 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:50.960 That's right. And do you think we're going to be 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:53.839 the first podcast to mention a clockmaker from Alabama? 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:54.240 Probably? 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:54.359 So? 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:58.120 But did you know that the kazoo is also known 0:04:58.160 --> 0:04:59.960 as the down South summer? 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:02.520 Good God, no, I didn't. 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:04.400 Now I feel bad for running away from that man 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:06.120 who asked if I wanted to check out his down 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:07.799 South submarine. 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:10.440 This sounds like a really fun museum. 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:12.680 By the way, did you know that kazoo is sometimes 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:14.839 called the most democratic. 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:15.080 Of all instruments? 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:15.240 Oh? 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:15.479 Yeah? 0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:15.960 Why is that? 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:19.359 Because they're cheap and approachable and basically anyone can just 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:22.280 pick one up and play it immediately. There's this avant 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:25.599 garde piece from the nineteen seventies called With one Hundred Kazoos, 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:28.320 and audience members are given kazoos to a company, a 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:31.560 little orchestra of real musicians, and they don't sound bad 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.919 because kazoos are that easy. All right, But let's move on. 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:37.520 Where do we go from Beaufort, South Carolina. Let's head 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:39.919 one state up to North Carolina to a museum. I 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:41.919 have to admit I didn't even know existed when we 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:44.200 went to college in the state. It's the Museum of 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:47.760 the Alphabet in Waxhaw, North Carolina. And what happens at 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:50.080 the Museum of the Alphabet, Well, it started out as 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:52.760 a project intended to translate the Bible into as many 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:55.640 languages as possible. But even if that's not your interest, 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:58.960 it's a pretty fascinating project. It's really a celebration of 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:01.159 the history of the ridden life language. There are twelve 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:04.760 galleries dedicated to individual languages or families of languages, from 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:07.880 Greek to Hebrew to African languages. But I think what's 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:10.640 most interesting about it is the focus on minority languages 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:12.800 that are only spoken by a small number of people, 0:06:13.120 --> 0:06:15.880 and they might be going extinct if they're not preserved. 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.400 I remember seeing a fact somewhere that of the seven 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:21.120 thousand languages in the world, about a third of those 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:24.240 lack a written alphabet, So all of those would definitely 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:26.599 be at risk of being lost completely if people stop 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:27.200 speaking them. 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:29.720 Yeah, my family actually speaks a tiny dialect of a 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.640 language called Konkni, which doesn't have its own script, and 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:34.800 it was great growing up because it's basically like a 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:37.480 secret language that I had just with my parents. There 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:40.400 are so few speakers, but it's really not that useful 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:43.040 if you're trying to get around India. But it's fascinating 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:44.839 that the Museum of the Alphabet is really trying to 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:47.320 preserve languages, and one of the ones they focused on 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:50.159 is that of the Galah communities of South Carolina, Georgia, 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:52.720 and Florida. It's a creole language of some of the 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:55.760 African American populations in the coastal region, and it was 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:58.680 developed out of several West African languages in the sixteenth 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:01.679 and seventeenth centuries as a way for slaves or different 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:03.440 backgrounds to communicate with one another. 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:06.000 It's so interesting. I definitely want to check this place out. 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:08.280 Well. While you're there, you can also see how your 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:09.359 name would look and cling on. 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:11.120 That's pretty cool too. 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:13.040 Actually, that reminds me of the time you and I 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:16.000 went to speak to the employees at Google and Mountain View, California. 0:07:16.000 --> 0:07:19.320 Remember 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 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:25.200 a few language experts create the world's geekiest crossword puzzle, 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.560 so every answer was in a constructed language like Klingon 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:32.240 and Elvish and Esperanto, and we told them whoever completed 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.800 it would get a free T shirt. Now, not only 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:36.760 did we run out of T shirts because so many 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:40.360 of them completed it, but they were correcting our grammatical mistakes. 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:43.360 And these constructed languages, I guess they are pretty smart. 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:46.160 Yeah, it's so crazy. 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:48.000 Okay, So another fascinating spot. 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:48.760 Where to next? 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:51.040 Well, there are two other spots in the South before 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:53.240 we head up to the northeast. The first is right 0:07:53.240 --> 0:07:56.640 here in Georgia in Statesboro at the Georgia Southern Campus. 0:07:56.920 --> 0:07:59.800 It's the US National Tic Collection and it's the largest 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:01.320 collection of its kind in the world. 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:03.760 Wow, this definitely seems fitting for this time of year 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:05.840 when we're all searching for ticks after we go for 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:08.720 a hike, and especially that one that makes people vegetarian 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:11.000 because it gives you an intolerance to eating meat. 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:12.040 How weird is that? 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:14.640 I know, it's like the meat lobby's nightmare. 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:16.960 But how big could this tick collection be? Are there 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:18.920 really that many kinds of ticks out there? 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:22.000 I was so surprised. They have over a million specimen 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:24.440 and there are eight hundred and sixty species of these 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.240 bloodsuckers collected from all seven continents. 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:29.760 Wow. I just opened the website here and I see 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:31.520 that they're open just a couple of days a week 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:33.840 for a couple hours each, so you definitely need to 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:36.480 plan in advance. Oh and this collection is actually owned 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:37.760 by the Smithsonian Institution. 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:38.400 That's pretty cool. 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:40.800 M hm. And my other span in the South is 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:42.440 in Scottsboro, Alabama. 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:45.680 Yes, another Alabama fact. And I know this one, so 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:47.360 please let me talk about it. I mean, you owe 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:50.319 me after all the Delaware facts and the tax savans issue. 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:52.000 Okay it a floor is yours. 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:55.120 So this is the Unclaimed Baggage Center in North Alabama, 0:08:55.120 --> 0:08:57.559 and it's not technically a museum, but it might as 0:08:57.600 --> 0:09:00.240 well be. It's where every piece of lost luggage from 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:03.640 around the country goes. It's a forty thousand square foot 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.360 facility and they take all the best stuff from the 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:08.880 lost luggage they acquire from the airlines and put it 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:09.640 on sale there. 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:10.400 How weird is that? 0:09:10.600 --> 0:09:11.280 Is so weird? 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:13.800 And it's been around since the seventies. I think it 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:16.960 was an insurance salesman who decided to buy unclaim luggage 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:19.480 from a bus station first, and then he'd set up 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:22.080 shop somewhere and sell all this stuff. This was all 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:24.480 before you expand it into the airline world, and there 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:27.800 are literally millions of items passing through there every year. 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:29.439 Have you actually ever bought anything from there? 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:31.480 Where? Do you think I got this awesome American flag 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:35.040 cowboy hat? Anyway, it's definitely worth a visit, if only 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:37.000 just to see the weirdness of all the stuff people 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:37.480 have lost. 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:39.800 Well, the unusual thing to me, too, is that it 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.200 isn't just a pile of junk like from what I've read. 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:44.280 It's actually kind of a nice shopping experience. 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:46.760 Yeah, they've got a guest services desk with a concierge 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:48.920 who can help you find some great dining options in 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.960 the city. They'll provide you with personal shoppers. They even 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:54.400 have someone take care of your pet while you rummage. 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:57.200 It's a full service thrift shop. But thanks for letting 0:09:57.200 --> 0:09:59.200 me talk about it. I think it's what that's four 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:00.160 places now? 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:03.079 Next, Well, I figured i'd owed you, but we've done 0:10:03.080 --> 0:10:06.320 a little music, some language, some bugs, and I think 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:09.080 we deserve a break. So we're gonna head up north 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:11.480 where we can kick back, hand our kids some quarters 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:13.360 and then ignore them for a while while we bask 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:14.800 in the warm globe screen. 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:16.040 Nice. 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:19.640 Actually these are two different places, but they're very much related. 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:22.680 The first is a dream spot for retro arcade nerds. 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:26.520 It's called the American Classic Arcade Museum in Laconia, New Hampshire, 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:29.320 and according to Guinness, it's the largest arcade in the world. 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:29.680 Wow. 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:31.599 So it's a museum, but you can also play the 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:32.120 games they have. 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:34.920 Definitely, there are hundreds, and the focus is on many 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.480 of the classic coin operated games that were so popular 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:39.680 before there was a significant shift in the eighties and 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:41.600 early nineties to the more violent stuff. 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:44.000 Okay, now I'm looking at their website and I see 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:47.520 they not only have the Kiss that's the band pinball machine, 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:51.080 but also the Harlem Globe Trotters, Sandball, the Sheet And 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:54.040 I see we miss something called Brofest. I feel like 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.640 I'm okay with that, though I might prefer to visit 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:58.640 when it's not Brofest whatever that is. 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:01.960 Yeah, I'm pretty sure Profest is like a big networking 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:05.000 event for professionals from all over the globe, of course, 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:08.520 But speaking of pinball machines, that's the perfect segue into 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:10.920 the other half of this thing we're pretending is one visit, 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.320 and that's the Pinball Hall of Fame and Museum in 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:17.240 Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania. They have four hundred vintage games in 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:20.200 pinball machines, with over twelve hundred more in storage. 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:22.120 I actually love the history of penball. 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:22.880 It's so weird. 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:24.960 So did you know that after pinball was invented in 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.679 the nineteen thirties, Mayor La Guardia, you know, the one 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:30.400 that New York's least successible airport by public transit is 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:33.720 named after. Anyway, he had more than two thousand pinball 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:36.560 machines confiscated in the early nineteen forties because they were 0:11:36.640 --> 0:11:38.200 considered gambling machines. 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:41.600 Yeah. This classic photo of him holding a sledgehammer winding 0:11:41.640 --> 0:11:43.959 back getting ready to go after one. 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:46.920 That's a tough guy to destroy a penball machine. But yeah, 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:49.200 I really do want to see this place, so Pennsylvania. 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:51.599 All right, Well, before we head to our next destination, 0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:53.320 what do you say we take a little detour and 0:11:53.360 --> 0:12:02.920 talk to one of our favorite adventure lovers. Dylan Thuris 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:05.440 is our old friend and co founder of Atlas Obscura, 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:08.280 a definitive guide to the world's most wondrous and curious 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:11.600 places In addition to cataloging the world's wonders and web 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:14.760 and book form, Atlas has also hosted incredible events where 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:18.600 you can meet wolves at bars, explore subterranean graveyards, learn 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:21.960 lock picking from expert locksmiths, and even how a duet 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:24.520 with a gibbon. It's truly one of our favorite sites 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:26.320 to get lost in and we're so excited to have 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:27.040 him here today. 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:27.800 Welcome Dylan. 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:30.280 Hey, thanks for having me on. Man, guess it's so 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:31.160 exciting to be here. 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:33.280 All right, all right, So Dylan, tell us a little 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.160 bit about how you founded Atlas Obscuro. 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:35.720 Yeah. 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:38.719 So I met Josh, my co founder, way back in 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:42.880 my two thousand and seven and I was about to 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:46.000 go on a big trip. I was moving to Hungary 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:50.000 to Budapest for a year, and we were done through 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:54.440 previous projects about ideas of wonder and discovery, and we 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:56.520 started talking about travel and the kinds of places we 0:12:56.679 --> 0:12:59.320 like to find and how difficult it could be actually 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:02.640 to find these sort of tiny museums or you know, 0:13:03.440 --> 0:13:06.520 collections of mummies, or the sort of stuff that really 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:11.560 like stuck with you when you traveled someplace. So basically 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:14.840 it came out of a desire to create a database 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.200 of that kind of stuff for ourselves as travelers, and 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:19.160 we thought, you know, I bet you there's tons of 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:21.960 people out there who know about some incredible place that 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:24.840 they grew up next to or they happened upon on 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:27.240 a trip, and we should make a kind of a 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.400 place where people can put those incredible locations. And so 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.199 that's how it started. And living in Eastern Eurofe, I 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:36.320 traveled around and started finding some of these things with myself, 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:39.040 and then in two thousand and nine we launched alis 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:41.679 Obskira and it's always been a kind of open platform 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:43.880 where people tend to submit a place and so yeah, 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:46.200 to this day, people still send stuff in it's totally 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:48.520 mind boggling that you've never heard of. 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:51.840 So how do you make time in your life to 0:13:52.000 --> 0:13:54.600 explore with a busy job and all this other stuff? 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:58.079 Yeah, I mean, I think one of the thesist statements 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:01.600 of Alice Obscira is that you can find incredible wonders, 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:03.839 you know, around the corner from you, that you don't 0:14:03.880 --> 0:14:07.040 have to travel around the world. And so a lot 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:10.400 of times it's just trying to be really curious about 0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:12.480 what is already around you. It's sort of if you 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:16.000 see something unusual that you drive by, it's like taking 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:18.720 the time to stop and knock on the door or 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:22.040 see if you can get in somehow. You know. I 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:25.480 recently moved, and so I've been exploring this area around 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:27.800 where I live, and I found out that there's a 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:31.960 you know, maybe a minute from me, there's a gigantic, 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:36.240 huge mine that is open to the public that you 0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:38.960 can just kind of walk into and they host like 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:43.080 concerts there. Sometimes it's really incredible and it's always surprising. 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:46.360 What's you know, just right around the corner from you. 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.840 Wow, that's pretty cool. We're talking in this episode about 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:53.920 several of the oddball museums around the country, and you know, 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:56.440 Mangesh came up with a pretty awesome list of this. 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:59.600 And do you have any favorite museums around the country, 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:02.480 you would say, just for our listeners to check out 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:03.320 this summer. 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:06.640 Yeah, sure, I mean, if we're going to sort of 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:11.760 keep it specifically unusual museums, there's a few really good ones. 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:15.600 Obviously this is a really well known one, but the 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:20.760 Muter Museum or Mutter Museum in Philadelphia is America's greatest 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:25.480 medical museum, and it is just an incredible collection of 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:33.480 skulls and wax faces with horrible skin diseases. It's not, 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:35.120 you know, it's not for the week of stomach if 0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:37.120 you have. If you're not comfortable with that kind of stuff, 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:40.720 it's probably like you might want to take it slow. 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:44.040 But it really is an unbelievable museum. And it's really 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:46.720 an example of a kind of museum that was more 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:50.480 prevalent than sort of mentally eighteen hundreds and still exists 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:52.200 all over Europe. The just earn't very many of them 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:56.680 there in the US. And the Muter is an incredible museum. 0:15:57.680 --> 0:16:01.160 It's questionable if you can call on a museum exactly. 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:04.640 But one of the places that started me on this 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:08.600 whole journey this past is a place in Wisconsin called 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.840 the House on the Rock. And the House on the 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:16.080 Rock is kind of a like a legendary tourist stops. 0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:18.280 It's tucked back in the woods of Wisconsin. If you 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:20.760 weren't kind of told about it or hadn't heard of it, 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:22.960 you wouldn't have any reason you wouldn't kind of sort 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:26.440 of stumble across it. But what it is is it 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:29.000 started out as one man's kind of architectural project the 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:31.120 sort of at least the myth is that it was 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:34.160 a screw you to Frankloyd Right, that this guy went 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:35.640 to work for Franklood Right and he told him I 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:38.480 wouldn't hire you to build a Chicken cooper a cheese 0:16:38.480 --> 0:16:40.920 great and the guy said, I'm going to go build 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:44.240 the greatest Francloid Right house ever. So it's this weird 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:49.640 off brand Frankloyd Right house. And whether whether the myth 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:51.800 is true or not, I mean, it's almost certainly not, 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:54.640 but it works, and you definitely, it definitely is a 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:59.280 very sort of Frankloyd Wrong vibe as you as you 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:02.760 go through who Over time, this house sort of started 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:06.159 acquiring other collections and other museums, and they attached this 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:10.240 enormous set of warehouses sort of buried in the forest, 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:12.280 and you really can't tell how big the place is. 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:15.159 He start going through it and it takes like five 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:19.960 hours to go through. And inside of this house is 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:23.600 a whale, a sculpture of a whale fighting a squid 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:25.720 that is the size of the Statue of Liberty. It's 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:29.879 like my house. The world's largest carousel is in the 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.920 house with the world's most diverse collection of carousel animals. 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:36.800 The house is actually it's a big set piece in 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.520 Neil Deaemon's book American Gods, and he is said on 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:43.640 the record that he had to tone down the craziness 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:46.160 of the house on the rock because no one would 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:49.439 believe even though it's a book of fantastical fix the 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:52.200 actual house is too much, too intense. So that I 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:53.600 went to that place when I was like twelve on 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:55.320