Square Donuts. The World’s Largest Stump. Oscar the Monster Turtle. Johnny Appleseed’s grave. The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. While other travel guides tell you about yet another cozy bed-and-breakfast and bike trails through Brown County, Oddball Indiana offers wacky travel destinations and little-known historical tidbits. Why is Nancy Barnett’s grave in the middle of a country road? Where can you go to communicate with your dead Aunt Clara? Who invented Alka-Seltzer? How did David Letterman get fired from his first broadcasting gig? This is the guide to the real Indiana, birthplace of corn flakes, Dan Quayle, and Wonder Bread, for those who want to laugh, not lounge, on their vacation.
Jerome Pohlen is the author of Oddball Illinois and Oddball Wisconsin. He is a regular travel contributor to the 848 Show on WBEZ, the Chicago affiliate of National Public Radio. He lives in Chicago.