In summer 1950, polio hit tiny Wytheville, Virginia with brutal force. The first case struck 20-month-old Johnny Seccafico in late June. Soon after, the town of just 5,500 people had 184 cases—one in ...

Wolf Island Road stands out among these haunted thoroughfares. Travelers have reported sightings of ghostly figures and eerie sounds, such as those of a phantom procession. The road itself seems to ...

Oklahoma: where the wind comes sweeping down the plain—and so do some absolutely bizarre laws. Known for its cowboy culture, tornado drills, and more roadside pecan stands than you can count, the ...

California may be known for sunshine, beaches, and Hollywood glam, but the everyday habits of its residents can look completely unhinged to outsiders. To locals, though, these quirks are part of what ...

New York: where the pizza’s legendary, the people are bold, and the laws… well, some of them seem like they were drafted during a 3 a.m. subway ride. From no- masking rules in bowling alleys to ...

A single limestone slab holds the evidence of countless meals prepared by Miwok hands over many centuries. Each of the 1,185 mortar holes represents hours of grinding acorns with stone pestles, ...

Confederate Lieutenant Henry S. Farley pulled the trigger of a large cannon at Fort Sumter at 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861. The shell flew upward through the dark sky over Charleston Harbor and burst ...

1. It’s Illegal to Tap Your Foot to Music in a Tavern Yes, really. A long-standing law bans patrons from keeping time to music in restaurants and bars—so don’t even think about bobbing your head to ...

Ohio: the Buckeye State, where college football is a religion, the weather can’t make up its mind, and the legal code is just as unpredictable. From outlawed fish intoxication to a genuine fear of ...

Tennessee: where the barbecue is smoky, the music never stops, and the laws? Let’s just say some of them could use a remix. While the Volunteer State gave us Elvis, Dollywood, and the Grand Ole Opry, ...

A priest with a rock collection and a massive vision turned this corner of Iowa into a legend. The Grotto of the Redemption spreads across nine city blocks in West Bend, built from countless precious ...

Kentucky is where bourbon flows smoother than the Ohio River, basketball is a sacred ritual, and every conversation somehow circles back to biscuits, horses, or whether it’s Louis-ville or Loo-a-vul.