A historic and oft-filmed prison stands in a Chicago suburb.

The multinational Burger King chain is banned from operating within 20 miles of a family restaurant filed under the same name.

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

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

A science teacher's dream.

The subtle science of a master molecular gastronomist.

A monument to the art of slicing people open.

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

A historic hotel library in Indiana hides more than a few secrets on its shelves.

This candy shop has been serving up sweets to the Louisville area since the 1850s.

Abandoned former poorhouse, bible college, and haunted house in an Ohio hamlet.

An abandoned asylum incorporated into a college campus.

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

12,000 sq. ft. museum tracing erotic art from antiquity to modern times.

The permanent home of Elektro, the celebrity automaton of the 1939 World's Fair.

Medical history museum featuring a lovely doctor's office from the 1800s.

Prison made famous by The Shawshank Redemption has been out of commission since 1990.

This collection of Japanese luck idols beckons visitors with over 2,000 waving paws.

A rare festival blending religion, blacksmiths, vagina dentata, sex workers, and the straight-up facts of life.

Japanese company creates clone dolls that reside in the "uncanny valley."

In oil-rich Azerbaijan, people bathe in the black stuff.

The maximum security facility was once thought to have "the bloodiest 47 acres in America."

The show pony of cave systems, Fantastic Caverns manages to live up to its name.