20 October 2009

Potty time?

No. 1 was devoted to toilets. No. 2 was a Stonehenge knockoff. That’s how it went when TripAdvisor asked customers to name the US’s ten wackiest attractions.

More than 700 decorated toilet seat lids are on display at the museum in Alamo Heights, Texas, which draws about 1,000 visitors a year.

In Alliance, Nebraska, visitors who can’t make it to England can see a replica of the English landmark. This one, however, is made from auto jalopies painted grey to look like stone.

The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, is just that: ten cars sticking out of the ground. Visitors can try their hand at painting them.

In fourth place is the museum to Pez memorabilia including a seven-foot-high Pez dispenser.

"When you are done with the city life and need a true cultural amenity, stop by," says one TripAdvisor traveler.

In fifth place is Florida Gatorland, where visitors can feed raw hot dogs to the reptiles.

Other notable attractions include an Eiffel Tower model in Texas, a doll museum in Wisconsin, another version of Stonehenge (and Easter Island), the extraterrestrial highway (Route 375) in Nevada which warns about seeing aliens, and the famous Minnesota Twine Ball in Darwin (claiming to be the world’s largest ball of twine at 17,400 pounds).

"This list proves the US boasts some truly bizarre attractions, and in a state where they do everything big, Texas even does weird big," said Christine Petersen, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor.

By David Wilkening