A sealed test tube said to hold Thomas Edison's dying breath was given to the inventor's friend and mentee, Henry Ford.

The only surviving prototype for Buckminster Fuller's house of the future.

Little did a museum know, they possessed the last-known lunch wagon in existence.

Quirky water tower advertises the long-gone Brooks Tomato Products Co.

An abandoned town is hidden in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

This building contains handprints that are well over a century old.

Mile-long cave system near Great Smoky Mountains.

A historic coal mine that doubles as a museum and tourist attraction.

The "mysteries" of this quintessential roadside oddity were almost destroyed by neglect but were saved by fans of kitschy wonder.

This functioning mill was built in the 1970s using parts from several other West Virginia mills.

A lighthouse on this West Virginia lake started as a joke, then the forces of nature helped make it a reality.

One day a year it is legal to jump off of this astoundingly tall bridge that spans an Appalachian gorge.

Nine of the very few concrete ships ever made in the U.S. are beautifully decaying off a Virginia pier.

One of the oldest living oak trees in the Southeast.

Thirteen pastel palaces in downtown Charleston add a gorgeous splash of color to the city.

South Carolina's last remaining slavery auction house is now a museum devoted to its own tragic history.

This twisty sign depicts the chain's first logo.

A statue honoring 44 continuous years of greeting passing ships.

This kitschy tavern is also home to rare early editions of "Treasure Island."

The first public building in Savannah to offer air conditioning was a luxurious cinema that still operates today.

Performers, intricate sets, and a real speakeasy tell the story of the 18th Amendment.

A breathtaking array of ancient Pueblo structures and artifacts counterintuitively preserved by neglect.

The ancient dwellings of the Puebloans, located in the cliffs of majestic mesas.

These elusive, isolated rodents evolved into a distinct, locally iconic subspecies.