In early autumn of 1903, something bizarre and terrifying happened in the town of Van Meter, Iowa. People have been talking about it ever since. On the night of September 29th a farm implement salesman named U.G. Griffith was returning late from his rounds when he saw something odd. It…
Read moreWhen you go to the airport to catch a flight, does it seem like you’ve got a lot of time to spare? When you follow TSA recommendations that you be at there at least two hours before departure, does it seem like too much? How much time should you really…
Read moreThere are innovations that, when we first experience them, are so striking, so clearly a terrific idea, that we cannot conceive of their ever fading away. For anyone born before the year 2000, the indoor shopping mall was one of those things. Repositories of consumer culture and social engagement in…
Read moreEighty-nine-year-old Marjorie Congdon has been called both a sociopath and a psychopath. The terms are not interchangeable. Sociopaths have a conscience, but their moral compass is weak. Psychopaths are without a conscience. They are cold-hearted, deceitful, manipulative, and cruel. In addition, they are charming, charismatic and engaging. People are drawn…
Read moreYou may have seen it. The world is changing. Major automobile manufacturers from GM to Jaguar have announced they are going to phase out gasoline powered cars in the next fifteen to twenty years and make only electric powered vehicles. That means electric vehicles (EV’s) are going to be a…
Read moreDo a simple Google search on “gateway to hell” and you’ll be surprised at how many results you get. Some are sites of underground fires that keep on burning, such as a natural gas fire in Turkmenistan, or an underground coal fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania. Others are active volcanoes like…
Read moreSomething is upside down in the hotel industry. In most other industries, when you pay more you get more, but when it comes to hotels that’s not the case. Here are 6 ways mid-range hotels give you more for your money than upscale hotels. First, about those classifications. Mid-range hotels…
Read moreWe’ve all had the experience. We’re trying to make a tight connection. After waiting impatiently to get out of the plane we enter the concourse only to discover our connecting flight is half a mile away in a different concourse. Now we have to run, dragging our luggage behind us….
Read moreTraveling west from the plains of North Dakota something interesting happens as you approach Billings. The land begins to break up. The rolling prairie gives way to a fantastic landscape of buttes, plateaus and palisades. Looking around, you find yourself in a different environment. The first city you come to…
Read moreAs winter gives way to spring and COVID restrictions begin to lift, many people are contemplating a road trip this summer. Travel during the pandemic has been a dream when it comes to the cost of fuel, but the promise of more people hitting the road has already driven gas…
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