Four miles northeast of Platteville, a gigantic white “M” dominates the landscape. At 241 feet high and 214 feet wide, it is the world’s largest “M”. Set at a 45-degree angle and facing south, the landmark proudly celebrates the region’s mining heritage. The story began in 1924, when Platteville’s engineering club wanted to challenge the Colorado School of Mines. Colorado had already built an “M”

Alton, Illinois's State Penitentiary officially opened in 1833, making it the first state prison in Illinois. It was used to incarcerate convicted criminals from across the state and later served as a military prison. During the Civil War, the facility became the Alton Military Prison and was used to hold Confederate prisoners of war. More than 11,000 Confederate soldiers were held there before th

Encased safely inside a concrete protective shell beneath a 12-metre-high burial mound (tumulus) is a late 4th-century BC Macedonian tomb holding a breathtaking secret: flawlessly preserved, 2,400-year-old fresco paintings. Though ancient grave robbers stripped the burial chamber of its gold long ago, they left the spectacular artwork untouched. The tomb's facade features a striking pediment guard

Žorik was the best-known dog in Tallinn for most of his roughly fifteen years alive, at a time when free-roaming dogs had already grown rare in the city. Born in 2007 in Kalamaja, once a working-class fishing district that has since gentrified, he lost his first owner as a puppy and spent most of his life on the streets nearby. The vagabond dog drifted between the harbor and the parking lot outsid

The Wood Street Steps are the last surviving examples of 10 or more stairways Philadelphia founder William Penn commissioned along the original Delaware Riverbank. Why are they important? Penn felt all citizens should have public access to the river wharves. Some early wealthy Quakers, who owned land there, disagreed. As part of a 1684 compromise, Penn made sure at least 10 stairways led to the po

High Shoals Falls is a secluded waterfall. To get there you must access the trailhead on Indian Grave Gap Rd in Hiawassee, Ga. The drive up the mountain is exhilarating. Once you reach the trailhead, you begin descending the mountain. The trail leads you down into a small valley with beautiful scenery and several back country campsites. There are two waterfalls on the trail. The first one is Blue

If you have stayed in hotels in the UK, you likely got a mini jam from Wilkin & Sons at your breakfast buffet. In a converted barn on the grounds of the Wilkin & Sons preserve factory in an Essex village, the Tiptree Jam Museum tells the story of one of Britain's most beloved jam brands. The entrance is marked by a long, retro-looking pole which was in fact the Tiptree Jam Factory's chimney from 1

No one knows exactly when Dawson City's Gold Rush Cabin was built, but historical records place it here by 1900 and suggest it may be somewhat older. Its earliest documented connections are to the Trading & Exploring Company, one of the businesses operating in Dawson as the frenzy of the Klondike Gold Rush was beginning to subside. Somehow, the little log cabin survived what happened next. As Daws

It’s nice to imagine death as an endless deep sleep, but not everyone is so lucky. In cemeteries across the U.S., you’ll find souls whose final resting places are not, in fact, restful at all. Perhaps they died with scores unsettled or, perhaps, their graves were ravaged by greedy developers. Sometimes, heartbreak rendered them unable to move on peacefully; in other cases, they simply couldn’t res

At first glance, the Oculus Tower looks more like a futuristic arena than part of an old distillery. Rising from the remains of the former Eridania industrial complex in Ferrara, this seven-story circular concrete structure was once the heart of a large alcohol-production plant. The tower's most striking feature is its enormous open center. The seven levels form a series of galleries around the vo

Is there a better pairing than a good book and a great drink? You can find both at this cozy bar on the east side of Chattanooga. But the books lining the walls of the Reading Room are not just decoration. They are for sale, and their journey began, appropriately enough, at the library. The Reading Room is part neighborhood watering hole, part used bookstore, a combination dreamed up by the owner,

Chattanooga may be best known for its natural beauty, surrounded by mountains, valleys, and the Tennessee River. This charming Appalachian city is also home to annual music festivals like the IBMA World of Bluegrass and the 3 Sisters Bluegrass Festival . The streets and venues fill with musicians and fans dedicated to upholding the traditions of bluegrass music. Chattanooga has always been a city

100 years ago, if you lived long enough in the rural American West, it was entirely reasonable, that at some point, you might find yourself with a ever shrinking amount of teeth and a surplus of coyotes. Such was the position George Washington Hancock found himself in the early part of the twentieth century in Independence, California. In desperate need of dentures and lacking the funds for profes

In 2009 Jason Miller, who played Father Karras in The Exorcist and won a Pulitzer Prize for writing That Championship Season, was immortalized forever with his bronze statue in Scranton Courthouse Square. Miller was also in such notable films as Rudy, Toy Soldiers, Light of Day, and The Best Little Girl In The World. He will always be remembered as the tormented young priest in The Exorcist film s

Nothing beats staying in a hotel whose suites hold some stories — especially if they’re of the spooky variety. The same friends who roll their eyes at mentions of luxury amenities and amazing views will be wide-eyed when you tell them about the ghost you accidentally ate breakfast with, the wailings you heard on your way to the icebox, or your run-in with an uncanny Victorian woman wearing all bla

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and all major podcast apps. Troy Taylor: There’s a story about a phantom riverboat that I always liked, about how if you heard the riverboat whistle blow on a foggy morning but you never saw the boat, that meant that someone who worked down on the docks was going to die within the next seven days. Amanda McGowan: A lot of old waterfront towns real

One of literature’s greatest gifts is its ability to transport us to other worlds: some utopian and fantastical, others dark and unnerving, scary and supernatural ... This guide is all about the latter (which are, arguably, much more fun). These are the novels, short stories, and novellas that get under your skin, that stay in your psyche long after you’ve put them down and returned to the world o

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and all major podcast apps. Amanda McGowan : Every small town has that one spot where people sneak off to at night. In Point Pleasant, West Virginia, back in the 1960s, that place was the McClintic Wildlife Management Area. The locals called it the TNT area. During World War II, this had been a giant munitions factory that produced explosives, but

Hey everybody. It is Dylan here and I'm walking through my kitchen and I'm going to do something that I now pretty much take for granted every day. I'm going to walk up to my fridge — I'm holding a glass here — and I'm going to press a little lever and that is ice magically falling out of the fridge into my glass. and then I can put water in it. I still think it's like one of the most luxurious th

20,000 BC was a monumental year in history. Why? The first pot of soup was crafted in a cave in modern-day China. To create their savory broth, prehistoric humans boiled animal bones and entrails in crude pits, then slurped their handiwork from some of the world’s earliest ceramic bowls. Fast forward a few thousand years, and a verdict has been reached: Our ancient ancestors were onto something ..