1

Jello Molds

Jello molds were once a centerpiece of American entertaining, especially from the 1930s through the 1960s. They appeared at holidays, potlucks, and family dinners, often filled with fruit, marshmallows, or even vegetables and meat .

As tastes shifted away from gelatin-based dishes, these colorful creations slowly disappeared. Today, they’re more likely to spark nostalgia or even humor than appetite.

2

Chicken à la King

Chicken à la King was a creamy comfort dish found in homes, cafeterias, and hotel dining rooms across the country. Made with diced chicken, mushrooms, and peppers in a rich sauce , it was commonly served over toast or rice.

Once considered elegant yet approachable, it fell out of popularity as lighter, faster meals took over. Today, it’s rarely seen outside vintage cookbooks.

3

Salisbury Steak

Salisbury steak was once a standard American dinner, served in restaurants, school cafeterias, and home kitchens alike. Made from seasoned ground beef and smothered in gravy, it was filling, affordable, and easy to prepare.

As food culture moved away from processed and institutional meals, Salisbury steak lost its appeal. Today, it’s mostly associated with frozen dinners or nostalgic meals.

4

Chipped Beef ("SOS")

Chipped beef, thin slices of dried beef served in white gravy , was once ubiquitous. It appeared on breakfast tables and became especially associated with military dining during the early and mid-20th century.

Its strong, salty flavor eventually pushed it out of favor. While still remembered by many Americans, chipped beef is now rarely served outside a few traditional diners.

5

Porcupine Meatballs

Despite the name, no porcupines were involved in making this dish. The meatballs were made from ground beef mixed with rice , which poked out during cooking, giving the dish its nickname.

Popular during the Great Depression, porcupine meatballs stretched limited meat into hearty meals. As economic conditions improved and tastes changed, this clever and thrifty dish gradually faded from everyday cooking.

6

Olive Loaf

Olive loaf was once a common deli meat, recognizable by its pink color and green olive pieces . It was frequently sliced for sandwiches and served at lunches throughout the mid-20th century.

Changing tastes and the rise of fresher deli options pushed olive loaf into obscurity. Today, it’s remembered mostly by those who grew up seeing it behind deli counters.

7

Pickled Herring

Pickled herring was widely eaten by Americans of Northern European descent and was once a common item in grocery stores and home pantries. It was valued for its long shelf life and strong flavor .

As newer protein options became widely available, pickled fish fell out of favor. Today, it survives mainly in specialty stores and cultural traditions rather than on mainstream American menus.

8

Ambrosia Salad

Ambrosia salad combines fruit, coconut, marshmallows, and cream into a sweet side dish. It was especially popular at holidays and church gatherings.

Over time, its sugary profile and unusual texture made it feel outdated. While still remembered fondly, ambrosia salad is now far less common on modern tables.

9

Braunschweiger Sandwiches

Braunschweiger, a type of liver sausage, was once a standard sandwich filling in American households. Spread on bread with mustard or onions , it was inexpensive and widely available.

As Americans moved away from organ meats, Braunschweiger lost popularity. Today, it’s mostly limited to specialty markets and nostalgic diners.

10

Oyster sandwiches

Oyster sandwiches were once everyday food in coastal cities, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Oysters were cheap, abundant, and commonly fried or stewed .

As oyster populations declined and prices rose, the sandwich disappeared from daily menus. Today, oysters are considered a treat rather than a working-class staple.

11

Scrapple

Scrapple is a pork-based dish made from scraps, cornmeal, and spices . It was once common throughout the Mid-Atlantic, especially as a breakfast food.

While still eaten regionally, scrapple never regained national popularity. Many Americans now view it as unusual, despite its once-widespread presence.

12

Creamed Onions

Creamed onions were once a classic American dish, especially at holiday meals. Small onions were simmered and served in a thick, creamy sauce .

As side dishes became simpler and lighter, creamed onions fell out of favor. Now, they appear mainly in old family recipes or historical menus.

1

Miniature Graceland

Image: Florian Herzog

If you are on the East Coast and you are not planning a trip to the South to visit the real Graceland in Memphis anytime soon, you can always settle for Roanoke, Virginia's miniature version.

The handcrafted structures at Miniature Graceland include the mansion itself, a replica of the Elvis Presley Car Museum, as well as the King's birthplace in the city of Tupelo. This magical tribute was built in 1980 by Don Epperly, an Elvis fan, on the property next to his home. Over time, the attraction deteriorated, but a local group is now in charge of maintaining the site, which can still be visited.

2

World’s largest Christmas store

Image: Brandi Alexandra

Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan, is the self-proclaimed world's largest Christmas store. And no wonder—the amount of electricity required to run the 100,000 lights that illuminate the sales floor costs approximately $1,250 per day.

The salesroom showcases more than 350 decorated trees, and you can find decorations and gifts from 70 countries, as well as over 150 styles of nutcrackers. Also, Bronner's has in-house artists who customize over 100,000 ornaments annually. This place is so fantastic that hundreds of celebrities have visited it. So, now you know—if you're ever in Frankenmuth, chances are you'll be rubbing elbows with a Hollywood star while shopping for your next Christmas tree.

3

Missouri’s Mount Rushmore

Image: Takefreebies

Although often overshadowed by the original Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Missouri’s Mount Rushmore with Fake Celebrity Heads still manages to attract a crowd. The "monument," located in Branson since 1996, includes sculpted faces of John Wayne, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and Charlie Chaplin.

This attraction is part of the Hollywood Wax Museum and is featured on the exterior of the building. Inside, you can find wax replicas of dozens of iconic stars —a true photo opportunity! But, if you get bored, Branson offers plenty of other attractions for the curious tourist. Just next door to the museum, you’ll find the Castle of Chaos, the world's first 5D ride and game, as well as Hannah's Maze of Mirrors.

4

World’s Largest Egg

Image: Daniele Levis Pelusi

There have been four versions of the "World's Largest Egg" throughout the history of Winlock, Washington, where it is displayed. The current version is made of fiberglass, weighs 1,200 pounds , and sits atop a ten-foot steel pole in the center of town. But why an egg?

Until the 1950s, Winlock was America's second-largest egg-producing town, and its residents were very proud of this distinction. In fact, the first "big egg" they built to celebrate it, a canvas version, dates back to 1923. In 1944, it was replaced by a plastic version, and in the 1960s, a fiberglass model took its place. The current version, crafted in 1993, was made possible thanks to a local chicken hatcheryman.

5

Virginia’s Dinosaur Kingdom

Image: Fausto García-Menéndez

If you ever wondered what would happen if giant dinosaurs had fought during the Civil War, look no further than the Dinosaur Kingdom in Natural Bridge, Virginia. Visitors to this quirky destination are treated to scenes of giant plastic lizards devouring Union soldiers in re-enactments of famous battles.

But it’s not all fantasy—there's some truth to it all. The park's 30 fiberglass statues are built around the premise that paleontologists discovered dinosaurs in 1863. This unique attraction was created in 2005 by local artist Mark Cline, who was inspired by the movie The Valley of Gwangi, in which cowboys discover living dinosaurs in a Mexican valley.

6

Thomas Edison’s Last Breath

Image: Zach Lucero

Who wouldn’t want to capture the soul of a loved one before they passed away? Believe it or not, that's what American industrialist Henry Ford did in 1931. Ford considered Thomas Edison a hero and a role model. In fact, as a young man, he took a job at the Edison Illuminating Company while working on his first experimental automobile. Edison, impressed by young Ford’s inventiveness, eventually became his friend.

As the legend goes, Ford asked Edison's son to sit by the inventor's deathbed. Believing that the soul left the body with one’s dying breath, Ford captured the final gasp of his dear friend in a test tube. The artifact, labeled "Edison’s Last Breath?", is now on display at Henry Ford’s Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. If you ever visit, you'll find other interesting memorabilia, like George Washington's camp bed and the rocker in which Lincoln was shot.

7

The Golden Driller

Image: Zbynek Burival

To celebrate the discovery of vast oil reserves in the area, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, created a statue depicting an oil worker and presented it at the International Petroleum Exposition in 1953. The monument became so popular that in 1966, a new twenty-two-ton concrete and iron statue of a golden man standing next to an oil derrick was permanently installed in front of the Tulsa Expo Center.

The Golden Driller stands seventy-six feet tall and can withstand a 200 mph tornado. In 1979, it was declared Oklahoma’s official state monument. A plaque at its base reads: "To the men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God’s abundance a better life for mankind."

8

Glass Beach

Image: Kevin Lanceplaine

From 1950 to 1967, the citizens of Fort Bragg, California, dumped tons of garbage onto a nearby beach. Over the decades, the ocean transformed the refuse into thousands of small, smooth, colored glass pebbles that still litter the shoreline today.

Now known as Glass Beach, this area adjacent to MacKerricher State Park attracts thousands of treasure seekers each year. The beach is accessible by foot via a short climb down the cliffs, although collecting the remaining glass is discouraged by State Park Rangers.

9

Hometown of Superman

Image: Zachariah Aussi

Although the rural town of Metropolis, Illinois, is a far cry from the bustling, imaginary city featured in the Superman comics, it has fully embraced its superhero ties. In 1972, Metropolis proudly declared itself the "Hometown of Superman."

A fifteen-foot bronze statue of the Man of Steel stands on Main Street in front of the county courthouse, while Lois Lane has her own statue just a few blocks away. If this inspires you to visit Metropolis, mark your calendar for the second weekend of June. Every year, Superman fans from around the world gather here for the Superman Celebration , which features discussion panels, costume contests, and appearances by celebrity guests.

10

Wonder Tower

Image: Martin Podsiad

One hundred miles east of Denver, in Genoa, Colorado, sits the World’s Wonder View Tower, a tribute to all things weird and obscure. In reality, it was a roadside attraction built in the mid-1920s by American showman P.T. Barnum as a sort of tourist trap. The promoters claimed that if guests climbed to the top, they could allegedly view six different states: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Mexico, and South Dakota.

For years, the sixty-five-foot tower housed a museum and gift shop featuring stuffed two-headed animals, a collection of 50,000 glass bottles, rooster eyeglasses, and scores of other curiosities. Unfortunately, today the tower is closed to the public due to the owner’s death. Nevertheless, visitors can still admire the weird-looking structure from the outside and, we assure you, it’s totally worth it!

1

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Image: Mandy Beerley

If you've ever imagined what hell might look like, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park could come close—not because it’s a place of suffering (you'll actually witness some of the most incredible views on Earth), but because it's full of glowing, molten, menacing lava. The lava flows from Kīlauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. But not everything here burns; this national park is also home to unique flora and fauna.

2

Grand Prismatic Spring, Wyoming

Image: Dan Meyers

What you're looking at might resemble a weather forecast map, but it's not. It's the Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone's most famous hot spring. With its brilliant blue, orange, yellow, and green hues, it looks like a surrealist painting. Although it might look small in pictures, the Grand Prismatic Spring is huge—about 370 feet in diameter and 160 feet deep. That makes it the largest hot spring in the US and the third largest in the world!

3

Antelope Canyon, Arizona

Image: Fudo Jahic

If you want to feel like you're walking through a giant red stone maze, Antelope Canyon near Page, in northern Arizona, is the perfect spot. Carved over thousands of years by flash floods and erosion, its towering walls allow sunlight to stream in from above, creating an unforgettable experience for visitors.

4

Painted Hills, Oregon

Image: Ashley Bard

If an artist were to paint a series of enormous hills in vibrant colors, it would probably look a lot like Oregon's stunning Painted Hills. Located within the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, these hills display stripes of red, yellow, gold, and black. But that's not all! The colors shift with the seasons and change throughout the day, creating a breathtaking, ever-changing landscape.

5

Mendenhall Glacier Ice Caves, Alaska

Image: Salomé Guruli

Exploring caves can be risky and terrifying for many, but imagine a cave system made entirely of ice! It sounds like something from a fantasy movie, but it really exists—and it's in Alaska. The stunning Mendenhall Glacier Ice Caves lie beneath the glacier of the same name, formed by meltwater carving tunnels and chambers deep within the ice.

6

Turnip Rock, Michigan

Image: Maria Teneva

Turnip Rock, located in the famous Lake Huron in Michigan, is as fascinating as it is mysterious. What makes this rock so special? Standing about 20 feet tall, it has a turnip-like shape—its narrow base supports a much wider top—giving it a perfectly balanced appearance that amazes all who see it.

7

Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

Image: Peter Hansen

The Mendenhall Glacier Ice Caves are just one of Alaska's many spectacular sights. Another must-see is the incredible Hubbard Glacier in southeastern Alaska, one of the largest and most active tidewater glaciers in North America. Trust us— its sheer size and dramatic ice cliffs will absolutely blow your mind!

8

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico

Image: Robert Harkness

When it comes to surreal landscapes, New Mexico's Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness can't be left out. Its towering rock formations, blending shades of white, gray, red, and orange, were shaped by erosion and look like something straight out of another planet!

9

Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

Image: Adrien Tanic

A cave doesn't always have to be a small, cramped space. Mammoth Cave stands out with its enormous underground chambers, filled with impressive rock formations in both shape and size. In fact, it's the world's longest-known cave system—and it's right here in the state of Kentucky!

10

Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana

Image: Carlo Lisa

If you're easily spooked, Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin might not be your idea of a fun trip, especially at night! It's the largest swamp and wetland area in the US, packed with twisting bayous, spooky cypress trees, and massive alligators lurking around.