Landmark Chicago building narrowly avoided destruction.

These chunky stone towers out in Lake Michigan are the key to Chicago’s drinking water.

To find the "unicorns of the deep" you've got to go downstairs.

This bronze sculpture on a former squash court marks the secret origins of the Atomic Age.

Each of these gorgeous, intricately decorated rooms is painstakingly crafted to the scale of 1 inch: 1 foot.

A Bibliophile's Dream.

An oddly conical beacon perched atop beautiful Irish cliffs.

Traveling this mountain pass reveals quaint stone buildings, stunning Irish scenery, and a bridge said to grant wishes.

Four hundred granite steps were built into this massive rock by the National Park Service.

The L.A. Zoo has a secret garden of rare bootleg cycads, a palm specimen dating back 280 million years.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

Hidden in the back of a disused small town hotel is a dive bar shellacked with over a million pennies.

The abandoned zoo enclosures offer a perfect place to experience the other side of the bars.

This giant temperature attraction created some giant electric bills.

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

An historic and oft-filmed spot for musclebound iron pumpers on the Pacific coast.

Once called the "Polish Gold Coast" it is an icon of the neighborhood that bears its same name.

This massive stained-glass masterpiece is thought to be the largest Tiffany dome in existence.

The twin towers in this Chicago fountain use 50 foot tall video screens to spit on people.

A giant pair of thick black glasses mark the tragic demise of a trio of rock and roll legends.

Exotic feline breeding compound and conservation center.

Home to the Amorphophallus titanum "Corpse Flower," which is among the largest flowers in the world and also smells powerfully of rotting flesh when in bloom.

A toweringly silly piece of modern art has been delighting locals since the 1980s.

The Midwest's reigning king of surplus stores is full of nothing you need and everything you want.