Yum, Yum: The Atomic Cake Under Glass

SUBMITTED BY: Debby Greenberg  LOCATION: Los Alamos, New Mexico (2011)

So uranium yellowcake is a key ingredient for developing nuclear weapons, but you’re not supposed to eat it.

That wasn’t the case with this celebratory mushroom cloud cake enjoyed by U.S. military generals after the 1946 nuclear tests at the Bikini Atoll.  A replica of the cake now sits at the Los Alamos Historical Museum in New Mexico, home of the famed Manhattan Project.  

Frosting Fallout: This Pentagon PR stunt was meant to showcase America as a nuclear superpower. No word if the cake was actually served.

Our favorite element of this surreal pop culture moment is the cake decorations, which look like the plastic parts from the Battleship board game.

Museum exhibits like this exist so we can chuckle at the dessert disasters of the past and pledge not to repeat them.

Apparently, the more appropriate way to trivialize nuclear weapons is through alcoholic beverages. Check out this atomic bomb wine stopper currently for sale at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History gift shop:

(Debby Greenberg is a health care professional who appreciates the roadside attractions that come with business travel).

Total cocoon immersion at The Butterfly Place in Westford, Mass. (Click pic for more details)

SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Garnick and Sarah Ekbatani   LOCATION: Westford, Massachusetts (2010)

There’s no better way to impress the ladies than to engage in some old-fashioned butterfly role play.

(Kyle Garnick and Sarah Ekbatani are hip college students at the University of New Hampshire).

Ewan, Fiona and Cora reel in the catch of their lives. (Click the pic to visit the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, which has the most amazing collection of antique outboard motors and lures!)

SUBMITTED BY: Tim Chapman   LOCATION: Hayward, Wisconsin (2009)

These cute little anglers assume that this giant Sunfish will be satisfied with the worm and not go after the bigger treats at the end of the line.

In addition to fulfilling fishing fantasies, the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame also lets you crawl inside the belly of a four-story concrete and fiberglass muskellunge, better known as the Big Muskie.  Extra points for mocking his facial expressions.

The Hall of Fame's "Shrine to Anglers," The Big Musky can hold up to 20 people in its mouth.

(If you think you’ve caught a world record fish for real, check out the Hall of Fame’s stringent application requirements that recognize sportfishing achievements for 125 freshwater species.)

Getting to know each other at the Pirates of Nassau Museum (Click pic for visiting info)

SUBMITTED BY: Kaeli Conforti   LOCATION: Nassau, Bahamas (2011)

Young women just dig guys in silk ruffled shirts and unscrupulous morals.

But an honest gorilla looking for love? — Forget it!

King Kong fails to impress his date at the Empire State Building. (Madame Tussauds Wax Museum/Manhattan 2011)

(Kaeli Conforti is a New York City travel writer with a weakness for wax museums).

Belting out the classics with Sonny and Cher.

SUBMITTED BY: Gerry Cronin   LOCATION: Canobie Lake Park, Salem, NH (2011)

Sonny & Cher, icons of cheesy 1970s entertainment, would be horrified by how they are being immortalized in a New Hampshire amusement park.

The late Congressman Bono looks like one of those overstuffed pantyhose puppets.

U.S. Rep. Sonny Bono (R-Calif).

And Cher’s hair looks like vinyl siding. No amount of plastic surgery could defame her more.

I Got You Babe? Click on the image to see the full horror.

Hey Donny & Marie, aren’t you glad you’re not enshrined in the Canobie Lake Music Hall of Fame?

(Gerry Cronin is a Massachusetts utility company worker with a soft spot for bell bottoms and tight plaster turtlenecks.)

Is there ANY other reason to visit Philly?

SUBMITTED BY: Darren Garnick   LOCATION: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2010)

Everyone knows how to retrace the historical steps of Sylvester Stallone. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is a lot more accessible to tourists than the snowbanks of Siberia — if you have your heart set on recreating Rocky IV.

But did you know that you can run the Rocky Steps TWICE?  Oh yes, you can also dart up the stairs of the Philly Mini Golf Balboa tribute in Franklin Square. You can make it to the top there in about three giant leaps.

(Tacky Tourist Photos curator Darren Garnick ranks the Rocky movies in this order: 4, 3, 1, 2, and 6 — with 5 not even deserving a roster spot on Netflix).

DON'T FEED THE BIRDS: Have YOU tried the Larry Bird Diet?

SUBMITTED BY: Cosmo Macero Jr.   LOCATION: Springfield, Mass. (2011)

There’s no pleasant way to say this, but the Basketball Hall of Fame has immortalized Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird as an anorexic.

It wasn’t Mahatma Gandhi who fought for Celtics Pride against the oppressive Dr. J and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It wasn’t Nicole Richie who teamed up with Robert Parish and Kevin McHale to reclaim Boston’s role as an NBA dynasty in the 1980s.

So why would the HOF sign off on this sculpture?   We don’t know.  But if you’re ever commissioning a sculpture of yourself and don’t want your tush to look too big, it’s now obvious who to hire.

(Cosmo Macero Jr. is a die-hard Celtics fan and a “Heavy Hitter” commentator on the Fox-25 Morning News.)

Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin

SUBMITTED BY: Carol Jones   LOCATION: Baraboo, Wisconsin (2009)

There used to be a mystique surrounding a woman daring enough to flirt with a python. But today, snake ladies are quite commonplace at birthday parties, weddings and Bar Mitzvahs.

Interested in the feminist trailblazers who forged the serpentine path for Britney Spears?  Check out the Circus World Museum in the wondrously named Baraboo, Wisconsin!

MORE SNAKE ACTION ON TTP:

* Thank God for politically incorrect zoos…

* Is this photogenic python getting a raw deal?

 

Ari is the Atlas of the Produce World.

SUBMITTED BY: Ari G.   LOCATION: O’Leary, Prince Edward Island (Canada — 2009)

It’s only a matter of time before this courageous kid’s triceps give out and he gets crushed by the potato!

The World’s Largest Potato is at the Potato Museum in Western PEI. It is far superior to any Idaho or Maine potato exhibits, a fact that Americans should be ashamed of.

The PEI Potato Museum sells burlap sacks in the gift shop and potato candy at the snack bar.

The fiberglass potato, generously funded by the O’Leary Chamber of Commerce, also provides the classic “holding the giant thing” pose.

This cute Canadian couple tries to line up the perfect Tacky Tourist Photo at the World's Largest Potato.

(If you can’t get enough of spuds memorabilia, check out how the PEI Potato Museum cleverly displays potato diseases. Cute little coffins are involved!)

World's Largest Toilet in downtown Columbus, Indiana

SUBMITTED BY: Julie Henning    LOCATION: Columbus, Indiana (2010)

On first glance, there’s something rather distasteful about encouraging your children to frolic in a toilet bowl, even if it is The World’s Largest Toilet. But let’s face it, the ball pit at your local family-friendly arcade/pizza parlor is teeming with way more germs.

It would be fantastic if the alliteration-happy Kids Commons Columbus Community Children’s Museum (yes, try fitting that on souvenir pencils) added life-size bacteria mascots to mingle with visitors by the hand sanitizer. But the KCCCCM did put a motion detector inside the toilet so kids can hear the flushing sound again and again!

Best part of all: When kids get sucked down the plumbing, they don’t wind up in the World’s Largest Septic Tank. Instead they slide down to the floor below for more potty-themed fun!

Shouldn't these kids be doused with blue liquid for the full effect?

Perhaps not so ironic is that Julie routinely uses scatological humor to bond with her children, Calvin, Marie and Owen, pictured above.

“We take a remote-control fart machine with us on the occasional road trip,” she admits. “I put the speaker in my purse and the kids take turns with the remote control. It’s funniest when you stand really close to a stranger or in a large group of people.”

When these kids get older, we’d love to read their “What I Did on Summer Vacation” essays!

(Julie Henning is the “Feed Me” and Geocaching editor of Road Trips for Families. Special thanks to Traci Suppa, founder of “Go BIG or Go Home,” for alerting us to this extraordinary plumbing story!)