For the Press

THE HEIGHTS OF ECCENTRICITY

You've probably heard the expression, "All Americans are weird." Now you can see just how weird they really are!

America varies considerably when it comes to the eccentric landscape and not all weirdness is created equal. Based on the number of entries per state, you can see the heights to which some rise on the quirkiness scale and the depths to which some states sink when it comes to providing a culture that encourages colorful behavior.

Sure, you'd expect to see California and Florida at the top of any eccentric pyramid, but you may be surprised to see Washington and Wisconsin ranking right up there among the oddest. Size, population, and regional differences alone can't explain the wide variations, eccentrically speaking, among the 48 states. What do Illinois and Pennsylvania offer that the surrounding states don't? Why is Oregon so mundane, nestled as it is between two such extreme neighbors? What is it about Florida that spawns so many eccentricities compared to the states around it?

What stands for quintessentially quirky in Nebraska might not even register on the eccentric scale in California, a quality this map can't measure. It also can't measure the relative expressiveness of a region's quirkiness quotient. In San Francisco, for example, they take their eccentricity very seriously, unlike Los Angeles WHICH behaves more like a wriggling puppy dog, anxious for you to rub its touristic tummy.

If you thought you could just drive across America, hopping from state to state in search of eccentric sites, you might prefer an airplane instead of a car. Jumping from California to Texas to Florida in search of the quirkiest spots in America means driving across some states where there's barely an eccentric blip on the plains of conformity. On the other hand, quantity doesn't always mean quality, as a read through Eccentric America will clearly show. When it comes to weirdness, some American somewhere will always measure up.

Author's Favorites by Category

QUIRKYVILLES

World's Largest Ball of Paint. 10696 N. 200 W., Alexandria, IN 46001; [765 724 4088]; web: www.ballofpaint.com/BOP/index.shtml Contact the Chamber of Commerce, 119 N. Harrison, Alexandria, IN 46001; [765 724 3144]; web: www.alexandriachamber.com

Lakeview Museum's Community Solar System. 1125 W Lake Ave., Peoria, IL 61614-5985; [309 686 7000]; web: www.lakeview-museum.org

ECCENTRIC ENVIRONMENTS

Salvation Mountain, Niland, CA located south of I-10, 5 miles east of Hwy 111 at Niland. Contact Leonard Knight, PO Box 298, Niland, CA 92257. Visit anytime.

Eliphante. P.O. Box 971, Cornville, AZ 86325; [928 634 4341]; web: www.eliphante.org Directions: From Interstate 17 take 293W to Cornville. Go about 9 miles, cross a bridge, then go one block to Loy Rd. Left on Loy about 2 1/2 miles, then left on Kaddomoto which dead ends at Candler. Right on Candler (dips and curves). Turn right at the Eliphante mailbox. You must call ahead for an appointment. Sometimes Michael has to ferry you across the creek in a canoe!

JUST PLAIN WEIRD

J. Stephen O'Laughlin Memorial Restroom, located at WAldo Pizza, 7433 Broadway, Kansas City, MO 64114; [816 363 5242]. Optimal viewing times Sun-Thurs 2:00pm-4:00pm. Offerings for the shrine appreciated.

STRANGE SHOPPING

Skeletons in the Closet, Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, 1104 N Mission Rd, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90033; [323 343 0760]; web: www.lacoroner.com. Open Mon-Fri 8.00am-4.30pm.

The Chicken Store, 1229 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040; [305 294 0070]; web: www.thechickenstore.com

FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

Moon Amtrak takes place annually the second Saturday in July across from Mugs Amway Saloon in Laguna Niguel, CA. Web: www.moonamtrak.org. Free.

D.B.Cooper Party held every November, always the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Aerial Store, 288 Merwin Village Rd, Aerial, WA 98603 [360 225 7126] 10 miles east of Woodland off Hwy 503. Look for the Merwin Dam sign.

Frozen Dead Guy Day, held annually in March. Contact the Nederland Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 85, Nederland, CO 80466; [800 221-0044] or [303 258 3936; web: www.nederlandchamber.org

Redneck Games held annually early July in Dublin, GA. Contact radio station WQZY; [800 688 0096] or [478 272 4422]; web: www.wqzy.com

MUSEUMS AND COLLECTIONS

Umbrella Cover Museum. 62-B Island Avenue, Peaks Island, ME 04108; [207 766 4496]; web: www.umbrellacovermuseum.org. Open summers only; contact for exact dates and times. Directions: Take the Casco Bay Lines ferry to Peaks Island. From the dock, walk up the hill to the first street (Island Avenue) and turn left.

Portland Alien Museum. 1716 NE 42nd Ave., Portland, OR 97213; [503 287 UFOS]. Open Sat-Sun11:00am-6:00pm, weekdays by appointment.

The Art Car Museum. 140 Heights Blvd, Houston, TX 77007; [713 861 5526]; web: www.artcarmuseum.com. Open Wed-Sun 11:00am - 6:00 pm.

Museum of Bad Art. 580 High St, Dedham, MA 02026 (in the basement of the movie theater); [617 325 8224]; web: www.glyphs.com/moba. Open Mon-Fri 6.-10pm, Sat-Sun and holidays 1-10pm . Free with substantial discounts to anyone with a business card in Comic Sans Font.

Toilet Seat Art Museum. 239 Abiso Avenue San Antonio, TX; [210 824 7791]; web: www.unusualmuseums.org/toilet/. Located in the Alamo Heights area of San Antonio: at 6021 Broadway, go around behind the bank to Argo Street, go 2 blocks to Arbutus, then left one half block to Abiso. If you see the flag and welcome sign, he's open. If you call ahead he'll be sure to be there to show you around.

White House replica. Located at the House of Presidents, 123 N. Hwy 27, Clermont, FL 34711; [352 394 2836] or [407 876 3631]. Open daily 9:30am-6:00pm.

ROOMS WITH A SKEW

Out 'n' About Treesort. 300 Page Creek Rd., Takilma, OR 97523; [541 592 2208]; web: www.treehouses.com

Shack Up Inn. 001 Commissary Circle, Clarksdale, MS 38614; [662 624 8329] or [615 385 4345]; web: www.shackupinn.com

QUIRKY CUISINE

Chocolate by Mueller. Reading Terminal Market, 12th and Arch Sts, Philadelphia, PA; [800 848 5601]; web: www.chocolatebymueller.net

Big Texan Steak Ranch. 7700 I-40 East, Amarillo, TX 79112; [800 657 7177] or [806 372 7000]; web : www.bigtexan.com

The Fort. 1912 Hwy 8, Morrison, CO 80465; [303 697 4771]; web: www.thefort.com

ATTRACTIONS

Presidents Park, 4 miles south of Lead/Deadwood, SD on Hwy 85 at Deer Mountain. [866 584 9096] web: presidentspark.com Hours vary by season.

Northlandz, Great American Railway, Doll Museum, and Art Gallery, 495 Hwy 202 South, Flemington, NJ 08822; [908 782 4022]; web: www.northlandz.com. Open Mon-Fri 10.30am-4.00pm; Sat-Sun 10.00am-6.00pm.

QUIRK ALERTS

Big Mac Guy

CROSS COUNTRY QUIRKS

Society of Primitive Technology web: www.primitiveways.com
Sweet Potato Queens web: www.sweetpotatoqueens.com
International Federation of Competitive Eaters (IFOCE) web: www.ifoce.com
Canine freestyle dancing web: www.canine-freestyle.org

Reviews of Eccentric America

"If you ever suspected America was wacky, Eccentric America provides the proof. This blissfully weird travel guide contains 354 uniquely entertaining pages jam-packed with everything that's oddball, eerie, crazed and madcap about the great US of A. Some travel guides are such fun they are worth reading in their own right; this is, quite definitely, one of them."
-- Amazon.com

"Author Jan Friedman brings a wicked sense of the absurd to listings for places as strange as the Future Birthplace of Capt. Kirk in Iowa, the office building shaped like a giant picnic basket in Ohio, and the B&B in a cave in New Mexico."
-- Chicago Tribune, IL

"Instead of attending the Indianapolis 500, maybe we should consider the World's Richest Tombstone Race.the Ice Tee Golf tournament.the World Grits Festival.and Alhgrim Acres, a miniature-golf course in a mortuary basement."
-- The Chronicle, Houston, TX

"You could take all the strange things In Eccentric America and conduct your own poll on which one is most outlandish."
-- San Diego Union Tribune, CA

"Jan Friedman takes a romp on the wacky side of America and discovers events ranging from the mildly mad . to the positively deranged!"
-- Daily Express, UK

"Read the first couple of pages of this book and you'll realize just how much of the great US of A you've been missing.Friedman has tirelessly plumbed the depths of American eccentricity."
-- The Sunday Times, UK

"Americans revel in the weird and wonderful.Celebrate Spam? Only in America."
-- Independent on Sunday, UK

"If you think the drive across the center of the country is dull, you haven't stopped at the right places.Friedman writes in an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek style. You can't help but laugh."
-- Road Trip, 2002

"One very strange trip.Jan Friedman's new book is a guided tour to the weirdest and wackiest America has to offer.You'll love Eccentric America."
-- Marin Independent Journal

"The English may have a reputation for being eccentric, but our cousins across the pond are infinitely more bonkers."
-- Footloose, UK

"Recommended for public libraries."
-- Library Journal, NY

"Where else but in America could you find a jail where the cells rotate around the jailer? Or a contest to find the stinkiest sneaker? Find these and lots more."
-- New York Post, NY

"What's with Colorado, anyway? It has some of the weirdest festivals - Mike the Headless Chicken Days and the Emma Crawford Coffin Races."
-- The Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH

"Eccentric America is more than a travel guidebook. It is a celebration of America's more eccentric places, happenings and people, as you travel the U.S.A. That it takes 314 jam packed pages to chronicle, is reflective of an author who takes her fun seriously, and of a culture that celebrates the unusual and the wacky."
-- Travel Sleuths

ECCENTRIC AMERICA is published by Bradt Guides, at $19.95 USD retail