Handball Capital of the World

Tucson, Arizona is the Handball Capital of the World, home of the United States Handball Association, and the USHA Handball Hall of Fame.

Address: United States Handball Association, 2333 N. Tucson Boulevard, Tucson, Arizona 85716; 800-289-8742. Email: handball@ushandball.org. Web: http://www.ushandball.org. Listing of hall of famers: http://www.ushandball.org/Halloffame/index.html.

Tucscon is also home to the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame, which is dedicated to individuals who have given their love, energy, time, and resources to advance sports in Pima County.

Address: Pima County Sports Hall of Fame, La Placita Village, 110 S. Church Avenue #4198, Tucson, Arizona 85701; 520-514-1600. Email: cel711@aol.com.

World's Largest Corn Stalk

The World's Largest Corn Stalk is located near Shelby, Iowa. Take a gander, but don't eat any ears.

This 76' steel sculpture lies along Shelby's Interstate 80 exit. It symbolizes the importance of agriculture for the Shelby area. The sculpture highlights the major commodities produced by area farmers: corn, beef, and pork. Sculptor Cliff Carlson of Wesley, Iowa was commissioned to design the sculpture.

Shelby is also the Purple Martin Capital of Iowa.

Address: City of Shelby, 419 East Street, P.O. Box 186, Shelby, Iowa 51570; 712-544-2404; Fax: 712-544-2703. Email: cityclerk@shelbyia.com. Web: http://www.shelbyia.com.

World's Largest Collection of Grant Wood Paintings

Young Corn, the painting above, is just one of many paintings from the world's largest collection of Grant Wood paintings housed in the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Other paintings include Old Stone Barn, Woman with Plants, and Indian Creek featured below.





Address: Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, 410 Third Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401-1606; 319-366-7503. Email: info@crma.org. Web: http://www.crma.org.

World's Largest Spinning Globe

It’s over 41 feet in diameter, it rotates just like the real Earth, and it was created from one of the largest mapping databases in the world. Its name is Eartha™ and it is the world's largest moving globe! Unveiled on July 23, 1998, it is housed in a three-story glass atrium at the DeLorme's headquarters in Yarmouth, Maine. Eartha took two years to build and represents Earth as it is seen from space. Every continent is beautifully detailed, with vivid colors illustrating all levels of vegetation, major roadways and cities. Ocean depths are also completely represented.

Address: DeLorme, Two DeLorme Drive, P.O. Box 298, Yarmouth, Maine 04096; 800-511-2459; Fax: 207-846-7051. Web: http://www.delorme.com.



The second largest revolving globe is the Globe of Peace in Apecci, Pesaro, Italy, which is 33 feet in diameter. At 30 tons, the Globe of Peace is still the heaviest rotating globe in the world, far outweighing the 2.5 ton Eartha. Situated on the Piazzale della libertà, it is the work of the famous sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro.

Address: Apecci, Pesaro, Italy.



The world’s largest globe is the Unisphere, which was built for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. This stainless steel globe is 120 feet across (12 stories high!) and weighs 700,000 pounds, including its base.

The Unisphere has been featured in the movie Men in Black, as well as in the opening credit sequence of the TV sitcom The King of Queens. It was also the finishing point of the reality TV show, The Amazing Race 1.

Address: Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York.

Salvador Dali Museum

Apparatus and Hand



Old Age, Adolescence, Infancy (The Three Ages)



Opened on March 10, 1982, the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, features the world's largest collection of Salvador Dali's original work, including 94 oils, 200 watercolors and drawings, and 1,000 graphics, sculptures, and objets d'art. Dali was a surrealistic painter that loved to play with images, including many paintings that could be viewed in two ways. One of the most famous examples of such play was his painting, Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire:



Another famous double take was recently acquired by the museum. The title: Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea Which at Twenty Meters Becomes A Portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Gala was Dali's wife.



Address: Salvador Dali Museum, 1000 3rd Street South, Saint Petersburg, Florida 33701-4901; 727-823-3767; 800-442-3254; Fax: 727-894-6068. Email: info@salvadordalimuseum.org. Web: http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Poet Carl Sandburg's retirement home, Connemara, is the first National Historic Site dedicated to an American poet. Sandburg spent his last 22 years here along with his wife who raised champion dairy goats. During his years at Connemara, he published more than a third of his literary work.

Address: Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, 81 Carl Sandburg Lane, Flat Rock, North Carolina 28731-8635; 828-693-4178; Fax: 828-693-4179. Web: http://www.nps.gov/carl.

World's Largest Published Book

The world's largest published book was created by Michael Hawley of MIT to capture more than 100 images of the country of Bhutan. The book, Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey Across the Last Himalayan Kingdom, is 5 feet by 7 feet and weighs 133 pounds.

The book was recently donated to the Smithsonian Institution Libraries by Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Janulis of New York. It will be housed in the Cullman Library of Natural History.

Address: Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, NHB CE-G15, MRC 154, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012; 202-633-1184; Fax: 202-633-0219. Email: libmail@si.edu. Web: http://www.sil.si.edu/libraries/cullman/index.htm.

Stonehenge II

Two miles from Hunt, Texas sits a 60% scale model of Stonehenge in England. This replica, known as Stonehenge II, is reported to give many of the same mystical feelings as the original in England. The replica was conceived by Al Shepperd and Doug Hill and constructed primarily by Doug Hill.



Nearby are two replicas of the strange statues on Easter Island. These were also built by Doug Hill.

Address: Stonehenge II, Farm Road 1340, Hunt, Texas. Web: http://www.alfredshepperd.com/Stonehenge/untitled.html.

Directions: 60 miles west of San Antonio, south off I-10, Kerrville Exit 506. Take Hwy 39 three miles to Hunt, Texas, and turn onto Farm Road 1340. Go two miles.

Orthopedic Manufacturing Capital of the World

First, my apologies for taking several weeks off. Sometimes we just have to do it. Especially when it is a labor of love rather than profit. Well, on to travel fun:



Known as the Orthopedic Manufacturing Capital of the World, Warsaw, Indiana has the best of both worlds--the values of rural mid-America with a commitment to real growth in business and industry. In addition to orthopedics, Warsaw is the home of the largest printing presses in the world, home to the world's largest manufacturer of projection screens, and home of CoCo Wheats breakfast cereal. That's quite a feat for a small town of 12,000. In addition, Warsaw has twice been named one of the top 100 small towns in America.

Address: City of Warsaw, 302 E. Market Street, Warsaw, Indiana 46580; 574-372-9595. Web: http://www.warsawcity.net.

Address: Warsaw Chamber of Commerce, 313 S. Buffalo Street, Warsaw, Indiana 46580; 574-267-6311; 800-776-6311; Fax: 574-267-7762. Web: http://www.wkchamber.com.



Revra DePuy pioneered the orthopedic industry when he started DePuy Manufacturing in 1895 to make wire mesh and wooden splints, becoming the world's first commercial manufacturer of orthopedic appliances. As his company grew, some of his employees left to form other orthopedic companies. In time, the industry in town has grown so much (at least 10 companies manufacturing orthopedic components) that Warsaw is now the Orthopedic Manufacturing Capital of the World.

Address: DePuy, Inc., 700 Orthopaedic Drive, Warsaw, Indiana 46581; 800-366-8143. Web: http://www.depuy.com.



Warsaw, as mentioned above, is also home to CoCo Wheats breakfast cereal, the first flavored hot cereal food (1930). Little Crow Foods has been family-owned since 1903.

Address: Little Crow Foods, 201 S. Detroit Street, Warsaw, Indiana 46581-1038; 574-267-7141; Fax: 574-267-2370. Email: customerservice@littlecrowfoods.com. Web: http://www.littlecrowfoods.com.



Warsaw is also home to the world's largest printing presses operated by R.R. Donnelley, the largest commercial printer in the United States.

Address: R.R. Donnelley, 2801 Old Road 30 West, P.O. Box 837, Warsaw, Indiana 46581-0837; 574-267-7101; Fax: 574-267-9548. Web: http://www.rrdonnelley.com.



Da-Lite, headquartered in Warsaw, is the world's largest manufacturer of projection screens.

Address: Da-Lite Screen Company, 3100 N. Detroit Street, P.O. Box 137, Warsaw, Indiana 46581-0137; 574-267-8101; 800-622-3737; Fax: 574-267-7804. Email: info@da-lite.com. Web: http://www.da-lite.com.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honors all the great rock singers, musicians, groups, early influences, and influential non-performers, including the following:

1986: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmy Yancey, John Hammond, Alan Freed, and Sam Phillips.

1987: The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, B. B. King, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robinson, Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, Jackie Wilson, Louis Jordan,, T-Bone Walker, Hank Williams, Leonard Chess, Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Jerry Wexler.

1988: The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Drifters, Bob Dylan, The Supremes, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Les Paul, and Berry Gordy, Jr.

1989: Dion, Otis Redding, The Rolling Stones, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Inkspots, Bessie Smith, The Soul Stirrers, and Phil Spector.

1990: Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Kinks, The Platters, Simon and Garfunkel, The Who, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Christian, Ma Rainey, Gerry Goffin, Carole King, and Holland, Dozier and Holland.

1991: LaVern Baker, The Byrds, John Lee Hooker, The Impressions, Wilson Pickett, Jimmy Reed, Ike and Tina Turner, Howlin' Wolf, Nesuhi Ertegun, Dave Bartholomew, and Ralph Bass.

1992: Bobby “Blue” Bland, Booker T. and the M.G.'s, Johnny Cash, The Isley Brothers, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Sam and Dave, The Yardbirds, Elmore James, Professor Longhair, Leo Fender, Bill Graham, and Doc Pomus.

1993: Ruth Brown, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Etta James, Van Morrison, Sly and the Family Stone, Dinah Washington, Dick Clark, and Milt Gabler.

1994: The Animals, The Band, Duane Eddy, The Grateful Dead, Elton John, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Rod Stewart, Willie Dixon, and Johnny Otis.

1995: The Allman Brothers Band, Al Green, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Martha and the Vandellas, Neil Young, Frank Zappa, The Orioles, and Paul Ackerman.

1996: David Bowie, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jefferson Airplane, Little Willie John, Pink Floyd, The Shirelles, The Velvet Underground, Pete Seeger, and Tom Donahue.

1997: The (Young) Rascals, The Bee Gees, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Jackson Five, Joni Mitchell, Parliament-Funkadelic, Mahalia Jackson, Bill Monroe, and Syd Nathan.

1998: The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and the Papas, Lloyd Price, Santana, Gene Vincent, Jelly Roll Morton, and Allen Toussaint.

1999: Billy Joel, Curtis Mayfield, Paul McCartney, Del Shannon, Dusty Springfield, Bruce Springsteen, The Staple Singers, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Charles Brown, and George Martin.

2000: Eric Clapton, Earth, Wind & Fire, Lovin' Spoonful, The Moonglows, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Nat “King” Cole, Billie Holiday, Hal Blaine, King Curtis, James Jamerson, Scotty Moore, Earl Palmer, and Clive Davis.

2001: Aerosmith, Solomon Burke, The Flamingos, Michael Jackson, Queen, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Ritchie Valens, James Burton, Johnnie Johnson, and Chris Blackwell.

2002: Isaac Hayes, Brenda Lee, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Gene Pitney, Ramones, Talking Heads, Chet Atkins, and Jim Stewart.

2003: AC/DC, The Clash, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, The Police, Righteous Brothers, Benny Benjamin, Floyd Cramer, Steve Douglas, and Mo Ostin.

2004: Jackson Browne, The Dells, George Harrison, Prince, Bob Seger, Traffic, ZZ Top, and Jann S. Wenner.

2005: Buddy Guy, The O'Jays, The Pretenders, Percy Sledge, U2, Frank Barsalona, and Seymour Stein.

They are definitely missing some fine musicians and influential acts such as The Association, The Moody Blues, Chicago, Grand Funk Railroad, Eurythmics, The Monkees, Blondie, Christopher Cross, Tina Turner's solo career, Aaron Neville, Bryan Adams, Culture Club, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Pat Benatar, Heart, Foreigner, Electric Light Orchestra, M.C. Hammer, Whitesnake, Bread, Neil Diamond, Sonny & Cher, Blood, Sweat & Tears, REO Speedwagon, Procol Harum, The Delfonics, The Kingsmen, The Youngbloods, The 5th Dimension, Air Supply, The Hollies, The Brooklyn Bridge, Lionel Richie, The Commodores, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Carly Simon, Carole King as a singer, Linda Ronstadt, Rita Coolidge, Roberta Flack, Dionne Warwick, Cyndi Lauper, Chubby Checker, Richie Havens, Donovan, Janis & Ian, Joe Cocker, and many others.

I really can't believe some of the people they inducted before people like Joe Cocker, The Moody Blues, Chicago, or Lionel Richie. And, certainly, with the predominance of men over women, there are politics involved that some who decide the inductees would rather no one notice.

In addition, the hall features the world's largest exhibit of rock and roll memorabilia.

Address: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, 1 Key Plaza, Cleveland, Ohio 44144; 888-764-ROCK. Web: http://www.rockhall.com.

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo

This zoo features the world's largest indoor desert, the Desert Dome, located under the world's largest glazed geodesic dome. The Desert Dome features plant and animal life from three deserts: the Namib Desert of southern Africa, the Red Center of Australia, and the Sonoran Desert of southwest United States. The dome contains 84,000 square feet on two levels (42,000 square feet on each level). Located beneath the Desert Dome exhibit is the Kingdoms of the Night, the world's largest nocturnal exhibit.



The zoo's Lied Jungle contains the World's Largest Indoor Rainforest. It has 123,000 square feet of floor space with 61,000 square feet of planted exhibit space, 35,000 square feet of display management area, and 11,000 square feet of education space. The Lied Jungle is 80 feet tall, about the same as an eight-story building.

Address: Henry Doorly Zoo, 3701 South 10th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68107 (off Interstate 80, Exit 454 near Omaha); 402-733-8400; Fax: 402-733-7868. Web: http://www.omahazoo.com.

Lake Lure: Dirty Dancing the Night Away!

While the movie Dirty Dancing was set in New York, it was actually filmed in North Carolina at Lake Lure, about 25 miles southeast of Asheville, North Carolina. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, the stars of the movie, stayed at Lake Lure Inn & Spa, where some scenes were filmed.

Address: The 1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa, P O Box 10, Lake Lure, North Carolina 28746; 828-625-2525; 888-434-4970; Fax: 828-625-9655. Email: sales@lakelureinn.com. Web: http://www.lakelureinn.com.

Cradle of Forestry

The Cradle of Forestry is located on the site of the first forestry school in America — the Biltmore Forest School, founded in 1898 by Dr. Carl Schenck, chief forester for George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate. It is known as the birthplace of forest conservation.

Address: Cradle of Forestry Historic Site, 1001 Pisgah Highway, Pisgah Forest, North Carolina 28768; 828-877-3130. Email: cfaia@citcom.net. Web: http://www.cradleofforestry.org.

Mile High Swinging Bridge

The Mile High Swinging Bridge, the only swinging bridge at a mile high, was built to give visitors easy access to the breath-taking view from Grandfather Mountain's Linville Peak. The 228-foot suspension bridge spans an 80-foot chasm at more than one mile in elevation. The nearby Grandfather Mountain Nature Museum features a billion-year-old rock that you can touch!

Grandfather Mountain is the highest peak in the Blue Ridge Mountain range, with an elevation of 5,964 foot. Grandfather Mountain is located on US Highway 221, two miles north of Linville, North Carolina, and one mile south of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Address: Mile High Swinging Bridge, Grandfather Mountain, P O Box 129, 2050 Blowing Rock Highway, Linville, North Carolina 28646; 828-733-2013; 800-468-7325; Fax: 828-733-2608. Email: nature@grandfather.com. Web: http://www.grandfather.com.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, covering parts of North Carolina and Tennessee, is the most popular park in the country. It contains more than 500,000 acres of protected forest.

"World renowned for the diversity of its plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, and the depth and integrity of its wilderness sanctuary, the park attracts over nine million visitors each year. Once a part of the Cherokee homeland, the Smokies today are a hiker's paradise with over 800 miles of trails."

The park was created on June 15, 1934. It became an International Biosphere Reserve in 1976 and a World Heritage Site on December 6, 1983.

Address: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 107 Park Headquarters Road, Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738; 865-436-1200; Fax: 865-436-1220. Web: http://www.nps.gov/grsm.

The Birthplace of Talking Films

In 1923, Theodore Case of Auburn, New York, invented the first commercially successful system of recording sound on film. He invented the system in his backyard greenhouse, which he called the Case Research Lab. His Movietone sound system revolutionized the movie business. His lab was restored and reopened to the public in 1994 as the Case Research Lab Museum.

Address: Case Research Lab Museum, 203 Genesee Street, Auburn, New York 13021; 315-253-8051; Fax: 315-253-9829. Email: cayugamuseum@adelphia.net. Web: http://www.cayuganet.org/cayugamuseum/researchlab.htm.

America's Largest Private Home

The Biltmore House in the moutains outside of Asheville, North Carolina is the largest private home in America. The 250-room chateau opened in 1895. It had all the modern conveniences then: electric lights, mechanical refrigeration, central heat, and indoor plumbing. Frederick Law Olmstead, the designer of Central Park, planned the landscaping for the 250 acres surrounding the chateau. The surrounding property at the time included another 125,000 acres. Most of that acreage is now part of the Pisgah National Forest.

The family dining room:



Here are a few of the movies that have been filmed at the Biltmore Estate:
1948 -- Tap Roots, starring Van Heflin and Susan Hayward.
1956 -- The Swan, starring Grace Kelly, Louis Jordan, Alec Guinness, and Agnes Moorehead.
1979 -- Being There, starring Peter Sellers.
1980 -- The Private Eyes, starring TIm Conway and Don Knotts.
1990 -- Mr. Destiny, starring Jim Belushi and Michael Caine (footage only).
1992 -- The Last of the Mohicans, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe.
1994 -- Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks and Sally Fields (features corn field and lagoon in Hank's cross-country run).
1994 -- Richie Rich, starring Macaulay Culkin and John Larroquette.
1996 -- My Fellow Americans, starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner (location for the farmhouse, campground, and most White House scenes).
1998 -- Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams (cabin footage and a few other scenes).
2000 -- Hannibal, starring Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore (home of Mason Verger as well as the Sardinian barn scenes).
2002 -- The Clearing, starring Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, and Willem Dafoe (forest scenes).

Address: Biltmore Estate, One Lodge Street, Asheville, North Carolina 28801; 828-255-1333; 800-624-1575. Email: happenings@biltmore.com. Web: http://www.biltmore.com.

Fern Capital of the World

Because so much fernerie dots the landscape in the area, Pierson, Florida calls itself the Fern Capital of the World. The town is best known for the ferns grown and exported worldwide for use in floral arrangements and other decorations.

Leatherleaf fern is a $70-million-a-year wholesale industry and the most valuable ornamental crop produced in Florida. 97% of U.S. leatherleaf fern production is housed between Palatka, Clermont, and Daytona Beach, Florida. This area of northeast Florida is known as the Leatherleaf Fern Capital of the World.

Address: Central Florida Fern Co-op, P O Box 588, 567 S. Volusia Avenue, Pierson, Florida 32180; 386-749-4911; Fax: 386-749-0929. Web: http://www.fernco-op.com.



In 1912 ferns became the industry for Apopka, Florida, and soon the town developed the name of Fern City. More tropical plants were introduced to the growers in the area. This influx of foliage took over the fern industry and the city became known as The Indoor Foliage Capital of the World.

Address: Apopka City Hall, 120 E. Main Street, Apopka, Florida 32703. Email: info@apopka.net. Web: http://www.apopka.net.

Little Dutch Church

The Little Dutch Church, built in 1756, was the first Lutheran Church in Canada. It is now an Anglican church open only during the summer for services.

Address: Little Dutch Church, Brunswick Street at Gerrish, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Web: http://www.multiculturaltrails.ca/level_3/number103.html.

Forest of the Wabash

The Forest of the Wabash, which lies along the Wabash River, is the largest single tract of untouched decidious forest remaining in the United States. It covers 329 acres.

Address: Forest of the Wabash, Beall Woods State Park, 9285 Beall Woods Avenue, Mount Carmel, Illinois 62863; 618-298-2442. Email: R5Parks@dnrmail.state.il.us. Web: http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/Landmgt/parks/r5/beall.htm.

World Peace Pavilion

It was here during the G7 Summit of June 1995 that the World Peace Pavilion was officially opened by the seven visiting Foreign Ministers. So far seventy countries have participated in the exhibit. Large signature pieces, such as a chunk of the Great Wall of China and some remains of the Berlin Wall, are featured in the exhibit. Alos included are amethysts from Uruguay, a plate from Ecuador, and a brass plaque made from ammunition fragments after World War II from Slovakia. Countries sent donations from their most cherished historical sites, their proudest achievements, and poignant reminders of the price of peace and fragility of human life.

Address: World Peace Pavilion, Dartmouth Waterfront, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. Web: http://www.halifax.ca/attractions/peacepav.

Oldest Protestant Church in Canada

Open in September 1740, St. Paul's is the oldest Protestant church in Canada and the first overseas cathedral for Great Britain.

Address: St. Paul's Anglican Church, 1749 Argyle Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3K4 Canada; 902-429-2240; Fax: 902-429-8230. Email: office@stpaulshalifax.org. Web: http://www.stpaulshalifax.org.

Pier 21 National Historic Site

Canada's last remaining immigration shed is now a national historic site. From 1928 to 1971, more than a million immigrants, troops, war brides, evacuee children, and displaced persons passed through the pier's doors. It is now a museum.

Address: Pier 21 National Historic Site, 1055 Marginal Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4P6 Canada; 902-425-7770; Fax: 902-423-4045. Web: http://www.pier21.ca.

International Space Hall of Fame

The International Space Hall of Fame honors all those who have helped to design, build, administer, and carry out space exploration.

Inductees include astronauts Edwin Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Guion Blueford Jr., Frank Borman, Malcolm Carpenter, Eugene Cernan, Roger Chaffee, Eileen Marie Collins, Michael Collins, Yuri Gagarin, Marc Garneau, John Glenn Jr., Virgil Grissom, Susan Helms, James Irwin, Mae Carol Jemison, Pete Knight, Alexei Leonov, James Lovell Jr., Shannon Lucid, Bruce McCandless II, Edgar Mitchell, Franklin Story Musgrave, Claude Nicollier, Valeri Vladimirovich Polyakov, Sally Ride, Svetlana Savitskaya, Walter Schirra Jr., Harrison Schmitt, Alan Shepard Jr., Donald Slayton, Kathyrn Sullivan, Valentina Tereshkova, Norman Thagard, Rudolfo Neri Vela, Joseph Walker, Edward White II, Charles Yeager, and John Young as well as scientists Karol Bossart, Dirk Brouwer, Arthur C. CLarke, William Congreve, Nicolaus Copernicus, Louis Damblanc, Charles Draper, Hugh Dryden, Robert Esnault-Pelterie, Galileo Galilei, Robert Goddard, William Hale, James Henry, Hipparchus, Edwin Hubble, Johannes Kepler, Joseph Kittinger, Willy Ley, Acrhibald Low, Isaac Newton, Hermann Oberth, Jeannette Piccard, Jean Felix Piccard, Klaus Riedel, Carol Sagan, Ernst Steinhoff, Hubertus Strughold, Clyde Tombaugh, Wilhelm Unge, James Van Allen, Wernher von Braun, James Webb, Fred Whipple, Johannes Winkler, James Wyld, and Fritz Zwicky. The hall of fame also features legislator Clinton Anderson, space artist Chesley Bonestell, newscaster Walter Cronkite, animal trainer Edward Dittmer Sr. (trained Ham and Enos, the first chimpanzees in space), Dr. William Douglas (personal physician to the first seven Mercury astronauts), and writer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.

Address: New Mexico Museum of Space History, P O Box 5430, Alamogordo, New Mexico 88311-5430; 505-437-2840; Toll-Free: 877-333-6589; Fax: 505-434-2245. Email: charper@dca.state.nm.us. Web: http://www.spacefame.org.

Only in India . . .

Courtesy of Levine Breaking News.

Only in Thailand . . .

Courtesy of Levine Breaking News.

St. Donatus Historical Society

The small town of St. Donatus, Iowa features the largest collection of 19th century Luxembourg architecture outside of Europe, all nestled in a wooded valley. The small town also features the oldest outdoor Way of the Cross in America.

Address: St. Donatus Historical Society, P O Box 113, St. Donatus, Iowa 52071; 563-773-8200. Email: rksimon@netins.net. Web: http://www.jacksoncountyiowa.com/stdonatius.cfm.