Iowa Curiosities

Your round-trip ticket to the wildest, wackiest, most outrageous people, places, and things the Hawkeye State has to offer!

When Iowa is quirky, it's quirky in a powerfully subtle way. The familiar made strange is much scarier than the strange made strange. Coming upon a three-headed monster from outer space doesn't hold a candle to the shock visitors get from the 13-foot giant sloth wearing a Santa suit in Iowa City. Iowa is the most normal place on the planet, so the people and places covered in this book will be as everyday as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread, but as twisted as a corn dog dipped in horseradish. As film maker David Lynch ("Blue Velvet," "Eraserhead") shows in his movies, it's what's beneath the surface that's really tells the story. As for Iowa's story, well, we'll let the facts speak for themselves.

This zany travel guide presents a more peculiar state than the Iowa Tourism Office might like out-of-towners to imagine. Leaving out the traditional scenic trips to the Mississippi River bluffs and the Amana Colonies, this guide will take the adventurous traveler to the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk, the home of the "Lonely Goat Herder" marionettes from The Sound of Music, and the world's largest Cheeto. To enhance the experience of this unusual side of Iowa, the guide includes facts about numerous events in Iowa's history, such as Ozzy Osbourne's infamous bat-biting incident and Jesse James's first moving-train robbery. Iowa is depicted as the birthplace of the Roto-Rooter, the Delicious apple, the electronic computer, the reinforced concrete bridge, and the Eskimo pie. The accompanying photographs and maps will direct travelers to other fun vacation spots and attractions, including the butter sculptures at the Iowa State Fair, the annual National Skillet Throw, the Hobo Convention and Museum, the Ice Cream Capital of the World, and the National Balloon Museum.

Presents information about the state of Iowa, its nickname, motto, and emblems.

Unusual, interesting and little known stories of the state of Iowa. A Treasury of IowaTales is aimed at the target of familiarity-plus-novelty. These suspense-packed stories constitute "history for the ordinary person," and a few include really great traditions passed orally from generation to generation.

A short study of the history, people, land, economy, and government of the state of Iowa.

A guide to some of the scenic and historic attractions of Iowa that features descriptions of scenic driving itineraries in fifteen different areas of the state, each with highlighted attractions, lists of restaurants and places to stay, directions, and photographs.

For most Americans, Iowa brings to mind endless acres of corn fields, one of the country’s longest-running state fairs, and American Gothic, but few may know how it serendipitously became the birthplace of the most iconic apple, why thousands of cyclists brave the Midwestern heat and humidity to cross the entire state one week each year, or how a former Des Moines sports announcer became one of the White House’s most popular residents. It Happened in Iowa goes behind the scenes to tell these stories and many more, in short episodes that reveal the intriguing people and events that have shaped the Hawkeye State.