Roadside Attractions: The Strange, Bizarre, Spectacular Stops That Make Unforgettable Roadtrips

Roadside attractions are as American as the open road: giant fiberglass animals, mysterious monuments, bizarre museums, oddball tourist traps, dinosaur parks, miniature towns, gravity-defying buildings, and spectacularly strange places that exist for one reason — to make you stop the car. Before interstate highways turned long-distance travel into a race from one destination to another, America's highways were lined with places designed to grab a driver's attention. Roadside attractions became part of the great American road trip, competing for motorists with enormous signs, outrageous claims, colorful characters, souvenirs, and attractions you simply couldn't see anywhere else. From the early tourist traps and roadside curiosities of the 1920s and 1930s to the giant statues, novelty architecture, drive-through attractions, and unforgettable destinations that followed, roadside attractions tell a fascinating story about American travel, tourism, advertising, automobiles, and popular culture. Tom takes a long drive through the history of America's roadside attractions — the weird, wonderful, ambitious, sometimes ridiculous places that turned a trip across the country into an adventure of its own. If you've ever pulled off the highway because something looked too strange to ignore, this one's for you. #RoadsideAttractions #AmericanRoadTrip #RoadTrip #RoadsideAmerica #AmericanHistory #TouristTraps #TomGulleyShow thetomgulleyshow.com