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Weird And Wacky Roadside Attractions May Be In Your Future

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Author KitsonJazynka is trying to make the odd more appealing. She recently wrote a book for National Geographic Kids called, “125 Wacky Roadside Attractions.” 

It includes things like a giant eyeball sculpture, a tunnel of love and museum of Pez memorabilia.

Jazynka wants to encourage road trippers to “slow down a little bit and enjoy things that otherwise you might just zoom right on past," she said. "I just think it says something about our world. It’s how diverse it is and how much there is to stop and explore if we stop and look.” 

She also said nontraditional art—like roadside attractions—has value worth enjoying. 

“Especially when you look at some of these creations that people have made, and it may not be the best art or the best food or the best museum," Jazynka said. "But there’s a lot to find out. There’s a lot to explore and learn about in the kind of amazing world we live in.” 

Jazynka said her favorite attraction in the book is a museum of bad art in Somerville, Massachusetts.

“I was so fascinated by that place because it’s not just bad art," she said. "The curators actually have all this criteria of ... what art can be displayed there ... It can’t just be bad art - it has to experience some type of mistake. It was trying to be great - it was an attempt at greatness that failed for some reason.” 

Some of the other attractions in the book include a traffic light tree in London, England, an ice covered lighthouse in St. Joseph Michigan, and a corn palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.