Today we visit the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is home to 10,000 bobbleheads inspired by sports, pop culture, politics, and even some niche viral Internet moments. Some even date back hundreds of years. 

This episode is part of our Weekend Road Trip Series, where we bring you stories of the strange, incredible, and wondrous places right here in the United States, that you can see from the road. This series was produced in partnership with T-Mobile.

Check out the museum online and note that they do accept suggestions for new bobbleheads!

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How do we determine the time? Believe it or not, there is an official clock. It’s located in Boulder, Colorado at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and we go there to visit.

LEARN MORE: NIST doesn’t give public tours. But if you want to watch the seconds go by as precisely as humanly possible, dial (303) 499-7111.

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Professional French horn player Kyra Sims tells us about a once-in-a-lifetime trip she took to Antarctica with a program called Polar STEAM, which pairs artists with scientists. She tells us about living on a research vessel, getting up close and personal with zooplankton, and where she found inspiration on the ice. 

You can find Kyra Sims online at her website or on Instagram. And learn more about Polar STEAM here. 

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This stone at Emory University is a marker of one millionaire's personal vendetta against gravity.   

This episode is part of our ongoing coverage of the soccer world championship. In each episode, we take you beyond the stadium, and to a nearby wonder that’s off the beaten track.

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The variety of apples we enjoy today have a common ancestor that lies in the forests of Kazakhstan, where scientists are studying the wildest version of the fruit. 

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One of Mexico’s oldest shoe stores holds a collection of more than 2,000 thousand shoes in a museum called el Museo Del Calzado. From booties worn by a rescue dog to slippers owned by Queen Elizabeth II, each pair tells a story. 

This episode is part of our ongoing coverage of the soccer world championship. In each episode, we take you beyond the stadium, and to a nearby wonder that’s off the beaten track.  

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It took Ross Ward more than 40 years to build Tinkertown, an indescribable array of carvings, figurines, and folk art. The project became both a source of inspiration for young artists, and an unexpected refuge for Ross himself. 

This episode is part of our Weekend Road Trip Series, where we bring you stories of the strange, incredible, and wondrous places right here in the United States, that you can see from the road. This series was produced in partnership with T-Mobile.  

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We head to the Namib Desert in Africa, where the landscape is dotted with mysterious, pimple-like indents known as fairy circles. Where do these things come from? Scientist Walter Tschinkel has spent the last several years studying and experiencing a natural occurrence so enchanting, locals describe it as “The footprints of the gods.”

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fairy-circles-southern-africa

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The LA Central Library has always been unique. It doesn’t look like a typical big city library, many people didn’t want it to be built in the first place, and, in 1986, a fire affected more than one million of its books. But the library endured, and is now celebrating its 100th anniversary. Susan Orlean joins Kelly to talk about this storied institution. 

Check out Susan’s book about the LA Central Library, called The Library Book, and her new memoir, Joyride

.

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Candy scholar Susan Benjamin brings us to her research-based historic candy shop, and introduces us to some surprising sweets that have shaped American history … from abolitionist sugars to WWI's chocolate energy bars. 

Today's episode is brought to you in partnership with the West Virginia Department of Tourism.

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War of the Worlds by Orson Welles is perhaps the most famous radio play on Earth. But what’s left out of the story is where the play was set — a real, little town in New Jersey. It took decades, but the people who live in Grover’s Mill have come to embrace their part in one of the biggest media hoaxes of all time. In fact, they’ve turned it into something to be proud of. 

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