Over the years I have become a conosourer of interesting & unusual things.
I will detour on any excursion to spot something I have read about.
One year in my "Last Hurray Of Summer, Oklahoma was full of things to see...
Winganon space capsule?
Around 1959, a cement mixer wrecked on its way to build the bridge over Oologah Lake. The truck was hauled off, but the mixer was left because it was too heavy to move and is now known as the Winganon Space Capsule.
Over the years people have turned it into art. Painting and repainting it with different themes. Right now it is a recreation of a NASA space capsule. (Location: on a lonely stretch of highway between Talala and Winganon)
Spider Bug - Lexington
Apparently, someone took a VW bug and attach spider legs to it, making it a spider bug...
And what a fun work of art it became. You don't see roadside attractions like this just anywhere. This attraction is located on the west side of Highway 77, south of Moffatt Road in Lexington.
Full-Size Transformers (G&M Body Shop) - Stillwater
It's 22 feet tall. Originally built in Thailand, but significantly rebuilt and upgraded by American body shop owner Mike McCubbin.
Oldest Burning Lightbulb - Mangum
One of the oldest burning light bulbs in the world (4th oldest in the world) has been illuminating a room in the Mangum Fire Department for 87 years. The original installer of the bulb in 1927, is as much a mystery as to why it continues to burn almost a century later.
Mangum’s small claim to fame has attracted interested tourists from across Oklahoma, neighboring states, and the globe to come and gaze at the octogenarian light. However, the bulb finally burned out on December 13, 2019.
World War II Bombing Memorial Site: Boise City
Located in the Oklahoma panhandle, Boise City is the only town in the continental United States that was bombed during World War II.
I visited the the Boise City Bomb Memorial to view a replica of one of the six bombs mistakenly dropped on the city during testing on July 6, 1943.
The bomb was dropped by pilots in a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber when they mistakenly took lights around the town's square to be their target.
Luckily, only practice bombs were used and the town square was deserted when the bomb was dropped just after midnight, though many buildings were damaged or destroyed.
The Boise City Bomb Memorial was located just in front of the Red Chamber Caboose.
Ames Astrobleme Museum
The Ames Astrobleme Museum has a very interesting story behind it. Way back in time, a meteor struck north-central Oklahoma, creating an impact crater – an astrobleme – more than eight miles wide. The Ames is buried by about 9,000 feet of sediment, making it barely visible on the surface. The hidden crater remained unrecognized until 1991, when a prolific oilfield was discovered. The Ames crater impact site is one of only six oil-producing craters in the United States. It is among the largest producing craters, producing 17.4 million barrels of oil and 79.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
My riding & love of learning always takes me to the unusual and I loved it!
Nana
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