Taxidermy, Cigar Store Indians, A Model of a New York Tenement and Delicious Draft Root Beer.

River pirates, murderous bandits, and serial killers used this Illinois cave as their debauched hideout.

Former meatpacking facility turned vertical farm and sustainable business complex.

A century-old network of freight tunnels underneath the city's historic business district.

A once-booming Mississippi River town with a history of racial violence is now eerie and mostly abandoned.

A river with some unusual, and occasionally dangerous, habits.

A six-story-tall golden pyramid, surrounded by a moat.

Even with only two residents and one building, this tiny Illinois town is famous for its burgers.

Chicago's museum dedicated to the history of bondage and fetishism is more textbook than titillation.

This elaborate Hindu temple is located in a Chicago suburb, but looks like it was transported directly from India.

The world's largest collection of the world's largest objects is in one small Illinois town.

A replica viking ship from the Chicago World's Fair is still in dry dock in an Illinois park.

A tribute to one granddaughter's old apartment which now represents the whims of each visitor.

World's second largest particle accelerator, where nature reveals its secrets.

In a grove of fast growing walnut trees outside Paris, Illinois, a marker shares the story of a fictional road building culture.

One of the first historical sites of an alternative universe was installed in the town of Paris, Illinois—which is now home to an annual spelling bee of Kcymaerxthaereal words.

Moving, mind-blowing metal sculpture work of an outsider artist.

The world's only known button museum.

A monument to the art of slicing people open.

A bloodstain from "the wound of the transverberation of the heart."

A speakeasy takes on Chicago's drinking culture.

This shop for all your super spy needs hides an educational secret.

A gothic church spire sits atop this skyscraper, the tallest church in the world.

This historic hotel invented the chocolate brownie.