Ohio Oddities: A Guide to the Curious Attractions of the Buckeye State

Want to know where you can see a seven-story building in the shape of a giant Longaberger basket? Maybe you'd like to know where you can find the stuffed body of Balto the Wonder Dog. Do you have the burning urge to see a 50-foot tall statue of Our Lady of Guadaloupe? Perhaps you'd like to visit the funniest intersection in America (the corner of Grinn and Barrett). If these things sound right up your alley, then you need to pick up the book "Ohio Oddities" by Neil Zurcher (host of "One Tank Trips" on FOX8 TV in Cleveland).

Mr. Zurcher has exhaustively covered the state of Ohio in pursuit of the weird. You'll be astounded at the story of Chic-Chic, the chicken who walked uptown everyday with a dime in her beak to buy her own lunch. Discover the crash site(s) of America's first airship, The Shenandoah. Find out where you can view the original printout of the "Wow" signal obtained from SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence). Be introduced to Buckeye Chuck-Ohio's answer to Punxsutawney Phil. Baffle yourself with the story of the cemetery marker, a giant granite orb, which has inexplicably rolled itself around at the rate of an inch a month for over a century now. You can even view the preserved fingers of a woman murdered and dismembered by her husband in 1881.

The author shows us where we can view the former (original) gates to the White House. You can learn where to visit the 'Mystery Hill' and its sister-site 'Pre-Historic Forest' ("Hey look! Prehistoric Forest!"). View a family's home that just happens to be a re-stored (and land-locked) Great Lakes ore boat over-looking Lake Erie. Learn where you can send you mail next Christmas in order to receive the postmark "Reindeer Station". Maybe you'd like to know where to stay in a hotel that has all round rooms (this is because it's built in restored concrete silos).

I guarantee you'll be amazed to see the stuffed corpse of a chicken who ran around like a normal chicken-only headless (the farmer fed it through the whole in its neck!) for over a month! Find out where your family can experience howling with actual wolves. Be amazed by the large, rocky glacial groove on Kelleys Island. Maybe you would like to visit the former Ohio State Reformatory-a huge, gothic-looking building that is not only said to be haunted, but has been the site of filming for movies such as "The Shawshank Redemption". Find the spot where a meteorite rained down on Ohio in 1860. Learn about the giant Bates couple in Seville who were reportedly both about eight-feet tall!

You might like to know where you can view one of the 89 locations of the Three Crosses, or perhaps you want to witness the world's largest gathering of twins in Twinsburg. Learn about a coal mine fire started underground in 1884 and is still burning! View the largest military museum in the world (including all the former Presidential airplanes) on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Want to know where you can view the graves of some famous people? You can even find out where and when you can ride a farmer's homemade wooden rollercoaster.

I bet you didn't know that Ohio and Michigan nearly had a "civil war" in 1835 over the city of Toledo. Oddly enough, I even found out the namesake of my street-Al Gross-and what he did to deserve this honor.

The towns/cities included in this volume are: Ashville, Ava, Baltimore, Circleville, Columbus, Delaware, Dublin, Hanover Township, Marion, Mt. Vernon, Mt. Gilead, Newark, Plain City, Westerville, Archbold, Bellefontaine, Bellevue, Bowling Green, Findlay, Fremont, Genoa, Dayton, Lima, Marblehead, Port Clinton, Put-in-Bay, Rudolph, Toledo, Akron, Amherst, Ashtabula, Austinburg, Berlin, Bolivar, Brighton, Cadiz, Canton, Carrollton, Castalia, Cleveland, Dalton, Dover, East Liverpool, Hartsgrove, Hinckley, Jefferson, Kelleys Island, Kent, Kidron, Kirtland, Lisbon, Lorain, Mansfield, Medina, Milan, New Concord, New London, New Philadelphia, Newcomerstown, Niles, North Canton, North Kingsville, Oberlin, Sandusky, Seville, Sugarcreek, Twinsburg, Vermilion, Walnut Creek, Warren, Waynesville, Wellington, Wilmot, Windsor, Barnesville, Belmont, Cumberland, Fly, Logan, Marietta, Mcconnellsville, Nelsonville, New Straitsville, West Chester, Zanesville, Bainbridge, Carlisle, Cincinnati, Eaton, Fairborn, Fairfield, Greenville, Hamilton, Locust Grove, Loveland, Middletown, North Bend, Piqua, Point Pleasant, Portsmouth, Ripley, Ross, Sabina, Springfield, Union City, Waverly, and Wilmington-organized by Central, Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest sections.

Even if you don't live in Ohio or plan on visiting anytime soon, check out Mr. Zurcher's book for a humorous (and historically-informative) read. You'll be amazed at what you didn't know existed in the great state of Ohio!

"Ohio Oddities: A Guide to the Curious Attractions of the Buckeye State" (ISBN: 1-886228-49-3) by Neil Zurcher is a paperback published by Gray & Company Publishers, and is listed at $13.95. The book is 215 pages long (including index) and can be obtained through any bookstore or online.