Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.

A tiny theater hidden in an alley plays a constant stream of short silent films for anyone willing to peer through the peephole.

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

The world's largest wooden trestle stretches across this desert canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

"...I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper?"

Just like the real 36th president of the United States, animatronic LBJ amuses visitors with jokes and stories.

These colossal desert barcodes have been fine-tuning spy satellites for decades.

The spaceship-like theater, which is still in use, was one of the most popular exhibits at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

A boat ride through utter darkness, lit only by headlamps, reveals an emerald green pool locals believe is sacred.

The 10-foot-wide Long Beach home was built on a dare.

A detached cement mixer has been transformed to resemble a relic from some obscure NASA mission to Oklahoma.

After the parade, students throw their beads on the tree hoping for good luck on exams.

Try not to get slimed in Tribeca.

A working model of a pressure-driven, high-speed rail whizzes around a private vineyard.

A blank headstone topped with a pile of pennies marks the final resting place of the infamous assassin.

A fairy garden in an old hotel hidden in La Marquesa forest.

Hidden above a drug store on a nondescript corner of Lincoln Heights is a private clubhouse for intrepid explorers.

Don't blink or you'll miss it.

Of all the origin stories for weed's secret code, this one likely has the goods.

At this California chicken ranch, four bucks will get you 18 eggs and a chorus of dancing animatronic poultry.

A shining sculpture made of 3,115 lights, the number of visible stars in the Northern Hemisphere.

The unedited photograph called "Bliss" has graced the screens of over a billion computers.

An "inside out" building in the historical center of Paris, featuring Europe’s largest modern art museum.

A living snapshot of a different time in America is preserved and maintained by a community of volunteers.