Here we are again at the intersection of open-world video games and reality, ready to exploit some glitches, make our way into some seemingly unmapped areas, and find the inside jokes left for us by over-caffeinated programmers. In case you missed it, we’ve done this a few times before—but since the stimulant-addled coders of the real world sleep just as infrequently as those who make our games, we’ve had no trouble rounding up 10 more for your amusement and utter befuddlement.

10Standin’ On A Corner

“Well I’m standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona / Such a fine sight to see / It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford / Slowin’ down to take a look at me.” So goes the middle verse of the Eagles’ 1972 classic “Take It Easy”—and though the song’s author, Jackson Browne, likely picked the town and state for the sake of meter (and for rhyming somewhat poorly with “corner”), the small town has managed to kindle a respectable little tourism industry centered around the statue and mural installation pictured above.

The statue, which many have noted looks nothing like either Browne or Glenn Frey (who sang the Eagles tune), gazes eternally at the fine sight depicted in the mural as if it were a reflection in a window. The installation wasn’t built until 1999, the result of a push by the cleverly named Standin’ On a Corner Foundation, who saw opportunity in the fact that practically everyone who passed through the town would stop to take selfies on random street corners.

Today, the statue draws hundreds of visitors daily to this tiny town of around 10,000 citizens, many of whom owe their livelihoods to a long-ago name check by that other guy who was in the Eagles, Glenn Frey. There’s also a memorabilia stand where you can purchase T-shirts and mugs and listen to an endless loop of Eagles songs; alternatively, you could just tune to any classic rock station.

9Busted Plug Plaza

Artist Blue Sky, a Columbia native, was commissioned to create this piece by a local bank in honor of its 75th anniversary. This four-story concrete, steel, and aluminum rendering of a fire hydrant is called “Busted Plug Plaza.”

According to the artist’s website, it was conceived as a different project called “Downtown Fountain,” a cement structure that kind of looked like a hydrant, with plugs analogous to various parts of the downtown area. At any rate, this enormous, 306-metric-ton (337 ton) fire hydrant was kept completely under tarps during construction, willed into existence by the combined efforts of architects, engineers, and city planners before finally being unveiled to the wondering, stupefied eyes of Columbia’s residents in 2001.

Strangely, there are a couple of other towns in America that once laid claim to the title of World’s Biggest Hydrant, but Busted Plug Plaza’s behemoth dwarfs them both. Says the artist of his work: “There’s one thing about all my public works. And that is, if anybody looks at it and thinks it’s art then I’ve failed because it’s not meant to look like art. I want it to look like something bizarre and something they’ve never seen before. And the last thing I want them to think is that it’s art.” Bingo.

8Easter Egg Island

Ever wanted to find an actual deserted, tropical island that you could have to yourself for a day or two? Near Petit St. Vincent in the Caribbean, there’s a tiny little island where that fantasy can easily come true.

Looking like nothing so much as a deserted island straight out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon, Mopion Island is all of 30 meters (100 ft) across and completely unadorned by anything except for a picturesque thatched umbrella. As one might imagine, it’s been photographed six ways from Sunday for all manner of travel brochures, posters, and postcards, and probably painted about as many times. Visitors scrawl their names on the umbrella’s post, which we’re surprised isn’t completely inked over—as of this writing, the little shovelful of sand in the middle of all that clear, blue water is Trip Advisor’s third-highest-ranked attraction in St. Vincent.

7UFO Welcome Center

We already know from a previous entry in this series that space aliens occasionally deliver mail to and/or pick up mail from the middle of nowhere, because someone built a mailbox to accommodate that purpose. One South Carolina man, Jody Pendarvis, has taken this one step further by turning his house into a large flying saucer that he calls the UFO Welcome Center.

Mr. Pendarvis is pretty serious about the whole thing: “Seriously, I am here to welcome the aliens from out of space.” He claims to have had several such visits since building the Center in the 1990s, and he has some definite theories as to what they’re up to: “I don’t believe they actually want to land. I think they’d just rather fly around, live on their own ship and maybe come visit, maybe not.” And if they do land, what then? “Aliens can fly from the north or the south and just land in the parking lot and come and chit chat with me.”

At any rate, the extremely small, 1,200-person town of Bowman with its one blinking stoplight has thus far tolerated Jody and the small amount of tourism his labor of love generates. At least they can all agree that it’s the town’s most noteworthy aspect: “Since this is the only attraction in Bowman, I think I’ll run for mayor and maybe I’ll get it,” said Mr. Pendarvis, a completely reasonable man.

6Hidden Solar System

In 1971, sculptor Ivan Kozaric gifted the city of Zagreb, Croatia with his latest work, entitled The Grounded Sun. It is pretty much exactly what it sounds like—a 2-meter (6.5 ft) bronze model of the Sun. That is to say, a huge bronze ball that sits on the ground in the middle of the city square. Interesting as that may or may not be, it’s not exactly Easter egg material. No, that would be the installation that artist Davor Preis created in 2004—since the Sun sits in the middle of the city, he envisioned the rest of it as the Solar System, and distributed the planets throughout the city.

Of course, the planets closest to the Sun—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mar—are all contained within the square, but the outliers are a little more difficult to find and require some hiking. The installation was never advertised to the public, and it wasn’t until their location was revealed by students at Zagreb University that most residents became aware of it at all. The planet sculptures are built to the same scale as Kozaric’s original work, and of course, their distances from the original sculpture are accurate to the same scale. And for the astronomically nostalgic, the installation does include Pluto, whose planetary status was revoked in 2006.

5The Monster Pad

Here we have the second entry to ever appear in this series from Boulder, Colorado, home to some famously odd people (there’s a reason Mork and Mindy was set there). Tucked in a cozy neighborhood up close to the Flatirons, this neatly kept ’80s-modern house does not have any particularly fascinating features. The owner evidently decided that that would not do, and that the best way to remedy the situation was to place lifelike, life-size statues of Mike and Sulley from Monsters, Inc. in his living room window.

The statues hold their position year-round, delighting children and scaring the hippies, and one has to wonder if the owner is just a huge fan or was somehow able to secure these statues for less than the cost of a snazzy paint job. They wear ghost sheets on Halloween, Santa hats on Christmas, and generally just seem way more like something Jeffrey Katzenberg would have in his den than the centerpiece of some guy’s living room in Boulder. Nobody seems to know who lives in the house or whether they work for Pixar.

4The Lil’ Desert

The Desert of Maine has been attracting visitors for almost a century, and it certainly looks and feels like a desert—heat reflected by the sand dunes pushes temperatures up 20 degrees or so from the surrounding areas, and the little region can reach over 32 degrees Celsius (90 °F) during the summer.

The 47-acre geological oddity was created by a one-two punch of natural erosion and sloppy farming: Ice-age glaciers pulverized the rocks in the area into sand, which was buried deep beneath the topsoil. Said topsoil was slowly eroded by a farming family in the 1700s over generations, eventually exposing a small patch of sand that grew . . . and grew. Throughout the 1800s, the family tried to fight the encroaching drifts, but gave up in the early 1900s. They eventually sold it off for $300 to a Mr. Henry Goldrup, who turned it into the tourist attraction it remains today.

If you visit, you can go on tram tours, guided hikes, and play Frisbee golf. Just don’t ride the camel statues—they’ve been there since the ’50s as a replacement for the real camel they used to have.

3The Lil’ Post Office

Tourists to southern Florida often stop to take photos of the world’s smallest post office, pictured above, in the town of Ochopee. Inside, they find all the things you might expect—trinkets, keychains, postcards—and one thing you might not: a postal worker. Yes, the Ochopee post office actually functions as a post office, even if only two or three people pick up their mail there.

If the building just looks like a little shed, that’s because it used to be exactly that. In 1953, the original post office/general store burned to the ground, and instead of rebuilding it, well, you get the idea. For awhile, the little shed served as both the post office and bus stop for Trailways bus lines. When the decision was made to move the building, the job probably only took around half a day—a couple local residents plopped it onto a wheelbarrow and hauled it off to its current location.

In case you were wondering, the building has all the modern conveniences—a computer, a phone, even air conditioning. Oh, except a bathroom. We suppose that keeping things bottled up is something of a postal worker stereotype, but it still seems like a pretty glaring oversight.

2Homeless Jesus

If, at first glance, the art installation pictured above looks like an actual homeless man, perhaps that is the point. The work has had the police called on it at least once, and a bronze likeness of a hobo sleeping on a park bench seems an odd choice for a public artwork—until you consider the affluent neighborhood in which it resides, and the crucifixion marks on its feet.

Yes, the statue—a $22,000 gift to the Episcopalian Church from a parishioner—is meant to depict Jesus as a lowly vagrant, which may help explain why it was rejected by two other cathedrals before finding a home in Davidson, North Carolina. To their credit, the church that ended up accepting the statue seems to recognize the value of the artist’s intent—Reverend David Buck said, “It gives authenticity to our church . . . this is a relatively affluent church, to be honest, and we need to be reminded ourselves that our faith expresses itself in active concern for the marginalized of society.”

Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz, the statue’s creator, has brought a miniature to the Vatican and received the blessing of Pope Francis; he hopes to get a Homeless Jesus installed in Vatican City one day soon. Parishioners of the Davidson church, meanwhile, have warmed up to their version and have even been seen praying in front of it occasionally.

1E.T.’s Final Resting Place

Finally, we have the actual intersection of real-world Easter eggs and video games. That is to say, an Easter egg consisting of a video game in the real world.

It had long been a sort of urban legend that, after the infamous video game crash of 1983, Atari took a whole bunch of copies of its famously crappy E.T. The Extra Terrestrial video game and dumped them in a public landfill in Alamagordo, New Mexico. Atari never really confirmed nor denied this, and as it sounded just too awesomely fitting to be true, most assumed that it was at the very least a wild exaggeration. Turns out, it was not.

In April 2014, garbage company owner Joe Lewandoski, along with archaeologist Andrew Reinhard and, for some reason, film director Zak Penn, got together to hunt for the biggest Easter egg of all—Atari’s lost E.T. dump. The games had been dumped in a 12-meter-wide (40 ft) hole in a 300-acre landfill over 30 years prior, yet they hit pay dirt the same afternoon they started digging, also coming up with a few Missile Command and Centipede games for good measure.

Game designer Howard Warshaw, creator of E.T., was on hand for the excavation. While alluding to his brutal production schedule for the game (“It is the fastest video game developed in video game history as far as I know”), he also managed to wax philosophical about his supposed role in destroying his industry: “Thirty-two years ago I did a game that people called ‘the worst game of all time’ that toppled a billion dollar industry. Maybe it is true; maybe it is not. The fact is I did something 30 years ago that is still getting people gathered together, enjoying it, getting some excitement.”

The Mandalorian was touted as the flagship show of Disney+ since its announcement in early 2019, and over the course of its first two seasons it has been an unmitigated success. Combining elements of the old with elements of the new, the show is nostalgic yet forward-looking and proved to be a hit with both long-time fans as well as people making their first venture into the Star Wars universe.

But as with any show set in an already established universe, there is a plethora of hidden facts and easily overlooked details to be discovered! She here are the top 10 fun facts and Easter eggs from Star Wars: The Mandalorian!

Top 10 ‘Star Wars’ Background Characters You Never Even Noticed

10 The Mos Eisley bar is still as unwelcoming as ever

One of the most iconic scenes from the original Star Wars movie was Luke Skywalker’s visit to the bustling cantina populated by aliens of all shapes, sizes and descriptions. Upon entering the bar, gruff barman Wuher bellows out “we don’t serve their kind here” referring to Luke’s golden droid companion C-3PO. Well it seems that in the years since Skywalker’s visit the cantina has relaxed its anti-droid policy and now not only are robotic patrons allowed but they’re also working behind the bar! This really is inclusivity at its very best! However while Wuher might not be manning the blue milk pumps, in Chapter 5: The Gunslinger, Mando finds that his gruff attitude still lives on, with the bartender droids being just as curt as their more organic predecessor! It just goes to show that even in the furthest of the Outer Rim of the galaxy they’re not averse to change! Fun bonus fact – many of the shots of the Mando approaching and entering the cantina are faithfully replicated from the original movie, just to visually juxtapose how things have (or indeed haven’t) changed!

9 Sand People speak using sign language

In years gone by the Tusken Raiders have been portrayed as savages that roam the dunes of Tatooine, raiding, pillaging and destroying at will. They attacked Luke Skywalker while he was out looking for the wayward R2-D2, they shot at contestants during his intense Boonta Eve podrace and they even kidnapped, brutalised and killed Anakin Skywalker’s mother. But The Mandalorian went out of its way to portray these savages as more cultured and understanding beings that committed the heinous acts on order to protect their land. In both Chapter 5: The Gunslinger and Chapter 9: The Marshal, the Tusken Raiders are shown to communicate via sign language (after all – not many people can decipher their garbled roaring and screeching!) In order to develop and use an accurate sign language, real life deaf actor Troy Kotsur was hired to play a Tusken. Speaking about the role Kotsur said “I did research on the culture and environment of Tusken Raiders […] my goal was to avoid ASL (American Sign Language). I made sure it became Tusken Sign Language based on their culture and environment.

8 Imperials were based on Nazis

Star Wars has always drawn inspiration from real world history, but The Mandalorian draws from a pretty dark historical fact. In The Mandalorian Chapter 11: The Heiress, Mando and his crew capture an imperial captain who – instead of giving up information – decides to commit suicide via an electric shock component concealed in his mouth. Biting down on it he receives a fatal shock to his brain that instantly kills him and spares him from interrogation. This mirrors how high ranking members of the Nazi party used to conceal cyanide capsules in their mouths where, if captured by enemy forces, they could bite down on them and commit suicide rather than face questioning, imprisonment and possibly even the firing squad (which certainly is a much more grizzly way to go!)

7 IG-11’s sacrifice was not forgotten

The season 1 finale Chapter 8: Redemption saw assassin-turned-nanny-droid IG-11 sacrificing himself in order to protect little Grogu and save the day on the planet of Nevarro. Clearly his heroic last stand was greatly appreciated by the newly liberated residents of the planet, and when The Mando makes his mid-season 2 return the scene of the sacrifice, eagle eyed viewers might notice the residents of the city have erected a huge statue in honour of the sharp shooting hero droid. Its small details like this that create those strands that tie the two seasons together and ensure that all-important continuity that the star wars community loves.

6 Return of the ice cream maker

One of most famous bits of trivia amongst Star Wars fans is the appearance of an ice cream maker during the evacuation of Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back. Literally just an ice cream maker. That was the prop. One of the city’s residents is seen carrying the frozen treats maker through the corridors, and both the character (Wilrow Hood) AND the device itself have (known in-universe as a camtono) become cult favourites amongst die-hard fans. When it came time to make The Mandalorian, director Jon Favreau revisited the camtono and made it an important part of the story. In Chapter 1: The Mandalorian the reward for the capture and delivery of The Child is shown to be a camtono full of Beskar – the precious and durable metal used to forge Mandalorian armour. The inclusion of this ridiculous prop delighted fans, and further cemented its place in Star Wars history!

5 We finally meet a Krayt dragon

In the season 2 premier episode The Marshal, The Mandalorian has to defeat the deadly and monstrously huge Krayt dragon that is terrorising the residents of the small Tatooine town Mos Pelgo. In order to obtain the help of the titular Marshal, The Mando is roped into helping kill the beast. But this is not the first time we’ve seen the Krayt dragon! As well as appearing in multiple books and games that surround the saga, the monster (or rather the remains of the monster) can be seen as C-3PO traverses the sandy dunes of Tatooine in the original Star Wars movie. In fact in the very same film Obi-Wan Kenobi imitates the cry of the beast in order to scare away the skittish Tusken Raiders that have just attacked Luke. The Krayt dragon’s appearance in The Mandalorian however marks its first canonical appearance in all of its terrifying glory!

4 Jabba the hutt’s spirit lives on

The post-credits scene of Chaper 16: The Rescue sees Boba Fett return to the scene of his ‘death’: Tatooine. With a little help from sharp-shooter Fennec Shand he storms Jabba the Hutt’s palace and confronts the oversized alien sitting on the throne of the dearly departed slug-like crime lord. But who is the pretender, laying claim to the throne of one of the galaxy’s most infamous bad guys? It’s none other than Jabba’s ex-major-domo, Bib Fortuna! Fans presumed he perished when Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and the rest of the gang destroyed the sail barge in 1983s Return of the Jedi, but it seems that not only did he survive, but he laid claim to Jabba’s palace, keeping henchmen and slaves around him in the same way his ex-boss did. Luckily Boba ends his reign with fairly short shrift, and takes his place…for now!

3 Dark Troopers were once video game antagonists

Video games have always been an important part of the media surrounding Star Wars movies, with one of the most celebrated and enjoyed through the years being Dark Forces which was released in 1995. While the game has since become ‘legends’ (uncanonical Star Wars media), one of the antagonists found its way back into canon in The Mandalorian. The Dark Troopers were formidable opponents in the game, and in Chapter 16: The Rescue The Mando finds himself going toe-to-toe with one of these automated nightmares and barely beating it. It’s always great to see characters from legends media get reincorporated into canon, and the Dark Troopers are a welcome and terrifying addition to The Mandalorian.

2 Many directors made appearances

The Mandalorian had a whole host of directors contributing to the show, and many of the directors made sure they worked in an appearance. First off there is director Taika Waititi, who voices charismatic and inimitably blunt assassin droid IG-11 throughout the first season. Next up director and show runner John Favrau is the voice behind the burly Mandalorian warrior Paz Vizla in Chapter 3: The Sin. Skipping forward to Chapter 6: The Prisoner we find not 1 but 3 directors making an appearance: Dave Filoni, Rick Famuyiwa, and Deborah Chow can all be found as New Republic pilots sitting behind the yokes of X-Wings. And last but not least Greef Carga actor Carl Weathers directed Chapter 12: The Siege. Let’s be fair, if you were directing anything relating to Star Wars you’d definitely find a way to get yourself a role in that galaxy far, far away, right?!

1 There are breadcrumbs leading to the Sequel Trilogy

While raiding an Imperial facility during Chapter 12: The Siege, The Mando and his team stumble across something they didn’t expect – several vats containing shadowy human-like forms. The beings have clearly being manufactured, and if that wasn’t puzzling enough the ominous musical cue and short, snatched glimpses of one form in particular suggest that it is none other than future Supreme Leader of the First Order: Snoke. Questions as to why early forms of the (potential) Snoke clone are in an Imperial facility on a backwater planet like Nevarro remain unanswered, but these are tantalizing breadcrumbs that might eventually lead us to the formation of The First Order as seen in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy.

So there you have it – 10 fun facts and Easter eggs from The Mandalorian! Which was your favourite nugget of information? Did you spot anything that wasn’t included on this list? Let us know in the comments section!

10 Ideas George Lucas Wanted To See In The New ‘Star Wars’ Movies

About The Author: Hi, I’m Josh Gill, a freelance writer from South Yorkshire in the UK. I spent time studying music practice and theory at Barnsley College and Journalism and English literature and language at Coventry University before finding a role as a learning support assistant at a local school. So as you can see I’ve covered quite a few bases! Freelance writing aside, I’m a huge Star Wars and Disney fan who spends a lot of time playing music, reading, and filming for WanderWorks Vlogs; my daily vlog channel on YouTube.

Ah, Disney. We all know it, we grew up with it, we all love it, and we all watch in horror as it monopolizes entertainment by gradually consuming every studio and franchise we’ve ever loved. Disney is everywhere and even scarier- it’s all connected. Like one big, tangled web that has slowly covered every bit of our lives. At this point, it’s best if we all stop struggling and let the spider… wow, this intro got out of hand. Easter eggs are fun! It’s always a blast to see creators give nods to their other projects and peers, and Disney is especially full of these little winks. Here are 10 of the best easter eggs hidden in Disney films.

10 Hawaii Loves “Mulan”

In “Lilo & Stitch,” two easter eggs make it clear that Mulan is a movie in this universe, and Hawaii loves it. In one scene, Lilo and Stitch enter the room of Lilo’s sister Nani. On Nani’s wall is a poster of “Mulan.” Not a fake, alternate-universe poster, but the actual Earth-you’re-on-right-now theatrical release poster. So even in this world of Disney, Disney exists. And at least Nani is a fan.

But Nani is not alone. When Lilo and Nani are out driving, we get to see some local businesses. Most of them are nondescript, but one stands out: Mulan Wok. The sign is even written in a font used in the movie. In this universe, “Mulan” is even popular enough to inspire cash-in, knock-off restaurants. How do we know it’s a ripoff? An officially licensed Disney product would have one thousand percent more branding. A huge neon Mushu would spit flames into the air, metaphorically screaming,” Disney wins at everything!”

9 Beast’s Talking Tea Set is Trashed

In “Tarzan,” there is a scene where the gorilla Terk and friends trash the explorers’ camp. Over the smooth scat and beatboxing of both Phil Collins and N*SYNC (no, really), the animals play with and/or utterly destroy a plethora of tools and equipment- globes, telescopes, dishes, chemist’s tools, and even the dear old Union Jack. The whole scene is like the cast of Stomp went to a rage room. But in the middle of that jazzy, swinging ditty, one set of items stands out.

Terk drums on a tea set that is clearly the fine, frilly set owned by Beast of “Beauty & the Beast” fame, complete with Mrs. Potts and Chip, identifiable by his cup’s rim, which has a… chip. The scary thing is that particular tea set were all members of Beast’s staff who were cursed to live as talking drink-ware. At the end of Beast’s story, the whole staff turned back into humans when Beast became a handsome bro again. Considering “Tarzan” takes place after “Beauty & the Beast,” we can only assume the staff has been re-cursed. When will handsome princes stop insulting secret enchantresses? It’s a tale as old as time.

8 Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder in “Frozen”

Some Easter eggs are simple and cute. Some imply a deep interconnectedness and launch connected universes. This easter egg is both. When Arendelle opens its doors for the first time in forever to celebrate Elsa’s coronation, “Tangled” stars Rapunzel and Flynn Rider can be spotted in the crowd of visiting dignitaries. It’s quick and cute and simple, and there’s nothing else to it.

Except there is a ton more to it. The bullet points are: Anna and Elsa’s parents’ ship sank on the way to Flynn and Rapunzel’s wedding. Ariel loots their ship for thingamabobs and sings about feet. The couple lands in Africa and gives birth to Tarzan. That makes him a Disney prince. It’s all connected. Or it’s all crazy. I want to be part of a world where things can be both.

7 Genie is a Street Peddler

“Aladdin” opens with a really weird scene if you think about it. Yeah, “Arabian Nights” is playing, and that song rocks, but also the scene is just following some nameless street vendor as he talks directly to the camera and tries to sell it/us a hookah. Go watch it; it’s nuts. But this scene hides a secret that, before some last-minute editing, was pretty crucial.

See, the peddler only has four fingers per hand like Genie, wears blue with a red belt à la Genie, and is voiced by Robin Williams like Genie. I bet you can finish this on your own. In the original script, the peddler was Genie in disguise, and he uses the peddler’s guise to tell us the story of Aladdin. In a scene which was cut before the final version, the peddler reappears at the end of the movie, reveals himself to be Genie, and- we can only assume- improvs for twenty minutes about Madonna and Jack Nicholson.

6 Mickey is a Powerline Fan

“A Goofy Movie” is great, and you know it. I didn’t cry when Bambi’s mom died, but I sure as heck did when Max stormed out of Lester’s Possum Park and said to Goofy, “call me when the trip is over.” It’s an excellent story and one that notably only features Disney’s dog-people. Not the dog-style dogs from “Lady & the Tramp,” “101 Dalmatians,” “Oliver & Company,” etc., only the humanoid dog-monsters from which Goofy was spawned.

That’s why it’s notable when Max and Goofy get to the Powerline concert, and in the crowd, you can spot a very obvious mouse. His name is Mickey Mouse. Even in the post-human dog-monster hellscape in which “A Goofy Movie” is set, Mickey has enough name recognition to get into a sold-out concert. We have to assume the mice have their own territory, and thanks to “Duck Tales,” we know the ducks do, too. But Mickey is so famous he can cross the borders established by the Dog-Duck-Mouse Accords of 3027 and go where he pleases.

5 “A Bug’s Life” is Both Real and a Story?

“Toy Story” is especially egg-laden, but a couple “A Bug’s Life” mentions stand out because of the existential nightmare they imply. In “Toy Story 2,” Mrs. Potato head reads a children’s book to some baby toys. That book is “A Bug’s Life”; it shows a frame and actual dialogue from the movie. So in the “Toy Story” universe, “A Bug’s Life” is a story. Presumably a movie like the one in our world, which was made into a children’s book.

Except in that same movie, Heimlich and Flik hang out on a branch, talking, existing as real people in the real “Toy Story” world. Buzz passes by them, proving their real, tangible existence. Weirder, on the branch, they discuss filming “A Bug’s Life 2,” meaning they are certainly actors who filmed “A Bug’s Life.” So in the “Toy Story” universe, not only are toys secretly alive, but bugs have their own movie industry—that humans and toys also enjoy watching? Or do regular human film crews use tiny cameras to film bug actors? Do people not squash bugs anymore because now they know that all bugs are sentient, feeling beings? Or worse, do humans still kill bugs even though they know the bugs have the capacity to talk and make hit films? Do toys know about bug sentience? Do bugs know about toy sentience? Wait. Was that whole incident with the grasshoppers not real?!

4 Scar is a Nice, Warm Jacket

Man, Scar had it tough. Okay, he killed Mufasa and ate the Pride Lands dry, but… wait, no, that’s pretty bad. Still, everything before and after that is pretty rough. He grew up unloved, second best, shunned, and had his eyeball cut. Then after that whole murder business, he was beaten, dethroned, burned, and eaten alive to hyenas. And it doesn’t stop there.

After Scar’s death, some industrious human managed to find him, skin him, turn him into a cloak, transport him up to Greece, and gift him to the country’s greatest hero. That’s right, Hercules ends up in possession of Scar’s skin. He wears it while posing for a triumphant and heroic portrait, in what has to be a major insult to Scar’s ghost. Incorporeal and floating above that scene, Scar had to have asked the world, ‘How much more must I pay?!’

3 Hans: The Immortal Jerk

If you’ve seen “Frozen,” you know that Hans is a jerk. Everything about him is jerky, and even I—the guy who just empathized with Mufasa’s murderer—can’t find a single thing to like about this human popped collar. You won’t be happy, then, to find out that he survives the Frozen franchise. In fact, he’s immortal and unstoppable. At the end of “Frozen,” Hans’s dastardly plans are foiled and he’s is taken away to prison. In “Frozen Fever,” we see him living out his punishment, spending his days shoveling horse manure. But that’s not the true end for this human “Entourage” episode.

In “Big Hero 6,” a wanted photo for Hans can be seen in the San Fransokyo police department. In addition, Baymax at one point flies past a statue of Hans, which the robot’s database identifies as “Prince Hans.” This human cellphone holster is still alive, still a prince, and still eluding legal justice. Sorry, Anna. Hopefully, he finally dies in the Human-Dog-Duck-Mouse War of 3026.

2 Mickey & Co. are Gods

I know, I already mentioned that Mickey Mouse knows no borders. But those are just political boundaries. He also exists beyond the constraints of time, space, and death. Yeah, you heard me. Through phenomenal cosmic powers, which we can assume he learned while apprenticed to a sorcerer, Mickey manages to take himself, Donald, and Goofy to King Triton’s kingdom, Atlantica. A neat trick, considering “The Little Mermaid” takes place a century or two before Mickey was born, and Atlantica is entirely underwater. The mouse is so powerful that time, space, and air are meaningless concepts to him. This easter egg proves that he is beyond us all now. His visits to our movies take only a fraction of his consciousness, while the bulk of his brain creates and maintains universes. And clearly, his favorite universe is…

1 Cars are the Biggest Pixar Fans

…The “Cars” universe. It is the single scariest genocidal dystopian nightmare ever put on film. Clearly, humans used to exist in the “Cars” universe, but all mysteriously vanished. It’s not hard to guess how, seeing as their killers still use human-built roads and buildings to go about their sickening robot-Frankenstein lives. What’s worse is that, even though they wiped the humans out, the Cars have a deep love for human culture, especially Disney. There’s no single easter egg to list here because the Cars have covered every square inch of themselves and their surroundings with Disney references.

There are car versions of Mike and Sulley, tires named after Buzz Lightyear, car versions of Merida from Brave and her family, but what is truly disgraceful to human civilization’s memory is that the Cars create twisted car parodies of human movies, just to assert their dominance. There’s “A Bug’s Life” starring a VW Bug, the Incredimobiles, and worst of all because it took no thought whatsoever, Toy Car Story. I’m offended as both an extinct human and as a writer.

Chicken is a popular staple when it comes to making protein-packed meals. From Chick-fil-A to Nashville fried chicken, there isn’t a clever spin on chicken that hasn’t filled the stomach of many.

Chicken eggs are also popular in worldwide cuisine due to their versatile nature, texture, and overall taste. Despite the various ways that these eggs can be cooked, eating chicken eggs is going to be a similar experience no matter how they’re made.

Yet some people crave more than just a simple hen’s egg. They may want something richer or lighter, maybe slightly fishy, or possibly something so out there that even considering eating it seems a bit bizarre.

10 Fish

Caviar is a costly, delicious treat made of fish eggs that appeals to the taste of many.

Beluga caviar is the most expensive form of fish eggs. The cost can vary—sometimes ranging from $3,000 to $4,000. In fact, Iran made the Guinness World Records’ list for their beluga caviar, which sold for $34,500. It was considered a rarity as it came from an albino sturgeon.

In general, the beluga sturgeon is endangered, which makes the price tag of its eggs high. However, more affordable sources of caviar are available.

Fish eggs are often placed on sushi. Flying fish eggs are the most common type used. They have a reddish color and a notorious “pop” when eaten. While larger, salmon eggs can also be used on sushi as well as eaten by themselves. These versatile eggs are often found in California supermarkets and restaurants. They can be eaten with rice, mixed in pasta sauce, cooked in an omelet, or eaten raw. Salmon eggs are soft and come seasoned in a variety of flavors.^[1]

In Japan, fish eggs are a specialty. On New Year’s Eve, a traditional food is cooked herring fish eggs (kazunoko). With their salty, slightly fishy taste, these eggs are normally eaten alone or paired with rice when served on a New Year’s menu.

Oddly enough, feeding babies ground-up salmon eggs has been recommended by the USDA to aid in normal development. The taste of salmon eggs may even pair nicely with butternut squash or sweet potato baby food.

9 Ant

Small and able to lift twice their size, ants have many uses. In some countries, the eating of ants—and their eggs—is a tradition that has been carried out for years.

Ant eggs come in various sizes, depending on the type of ant and the region in which it lives. For example, red ant eggs from Thailand are larger than the typical ant egg. They are said to have a slightly sour taste. Red ant eggs can be used in salads, made into a curry, cooked in omelets, or even eaten on their own.

In Mexico, ant eggs are referred to as escamole and have been eaten since the time of the Aztecs. These eggs are said to have a more nut-related taste. They are either fried with spices or added to tacos and omelets. Many times, these eggs are served alone, often eaten with guacamole and chips.

This peculiar but not unreasonable interest in using ant eggs has spread to North America, where restaurants are starting to use them in salads, omelets, and even ice cream. When out for ice cream, it might be best to ask just what sort of eggs have been used after all.^[2]

8 Emu

Often confused with ostriches due to their similar size and long necks, emus are huge birds whose eggs are in significant demand. Emu eggs weigh about 0.9 kilograms (2 lbs) and are a stunning blue-green color. However, the selling point is that one emu egg equals roughly 12 chicken eggs.

Eating emu eggs is common in Australia, where the birds are endemic. In fact, there has been a spike in demand in the past few years.

As emu eggs are 50 percent whites and 50 percent yolks, the eggs can be used for a variety of dishes from breakfast to dessert. Australia’s demand for emu eggs has increased as cooking shows and restaurants look to add these eggs to their menus, either by scrambling, frying, or even turning the eggs into milkshakes.^[3]

In the United States, the popularity of emu eggs is also rising. Restaurants have started to add them to their dishes at up to $90 an egg. A dish with one egg serves up to six people and is scrambled with mushrooms and black truffles.

Even farmers’ markets are quickly selling out of emu eggs, which go for around $20 each! They are said to have a more decadent taste than chicken eggs, though you may have to taste them to believe it.

7 Seagull

Seagulls seem to be everywhere you don’t want them to be, especially if you’re trying to enjoy a nice day at the beach or picnicking in a park. A way to take out your frustrations with these birds is simply eating their eggs.

There has been a sharp increase in demand for seagull eggs, leading to a decrease in egg production and in the birds themselves. This is because their eggs are said to be much richer than chicken eggs. Seagull eggs are almost creamy in texture when cooked, making them even more delectable.^[4]

While these eggs are mostly eaten hard-boiled, they can also be fried, poached, scrambled, and served with meat. Due to their creamy nature, they’re good for use in baking as they add extra lightness that chicken eggs don’t have. In London, seagull eggs are served in high-end restaurants with caviar, truffles, and even foie gras.

Due to the conservation laws in England, the cost of seagull eggs is around £7 or almost $9 for just one egg. In Canada, the restrictions make eating a seagull egg a delicacy that happens once a year. When this time comes, those in Ahousaht prefer to eat their eggs the simple way: scrambled.

While seagulls might be everywhere, getting your hands on a cooked seagull egg can be harder than imagined.

6 Turtle

For a time, turtles were known as the pets that caused Salmonella outbreaks in children. This led to restrictions on which turtles could be pets, further limiting which turtle eggs could be incubated. Although some have found that turtles may not make the healthiest pets, their eggs might just have another use—breakfast.

In the US, eating turtle eggs became so common that it is now illegal to sell, consume, or produce turtle eggs in some states. This is a way to aid in species preservation, which is also happening in many other countries such as Nicaragua. There, turtle eggs are a highly sought-after dish.

In Nicaragua, the soft-shell turtle eggs can be cooked in soups or placed raw in salads. When eating them raw, the eggs are placed in boiling water for only a matter of seconds to absorb a mixture of garlic and onions before they’re served in a salad with a variety of leafy greens.

The taste of turtle eggs has been described as slimy and less appetizing when compared to other types of eggs. But there is a supposed surprise benefit to eating turtle eggs. In Indonesia, Mexico, and Nicaragua, turtle eggs are said to be an aphrodisiac that can aid in men’s potency.^[5]

5 Crocodile

Many people think of the crocodile as a fierce, almost prehistoric reptile with dangerous teeth and scaly skin. But others see these creatures as a source of food—whether it is their meat or, strangely enough, their eggs.

In fact, crocodile meat and eggs are so popular in places like Jamaica and Australia that the species started to be at risk of becoming endangered. Still, those who want crocodile eggs search for nests that aren’t being watched by the mother crocs. The eggs are then thoroughly washed because they are hosts for fungi. Then the eggs are cooked by themselves or added to other dishes.

In the Philippines, one of the most popular ways to eat crocodile eggs is to turn them into ice cream. When compared to the almost fishy taste these eggs have when eaten alone, the ice cream is creamier and can be mixed with various fruits and flavors.^[6]

Finding crocodile eggs in the US is going to be a bit harder as the US Fish and Wildlife Service restricts such activities.

4 Snail

Eating snails dates back to Roman times when these mollusks were often cooked and served. Eating snail eggs, however, is a completely bizarre trend that’s quickly growing in popularity.

The eggs have a slimy texture and a taste similar to a mix of grass and mushrooms. In places like Italy, snails are fed special diets to speed up their egg-making process. Their eggs are sold in a 50-gram (1.8 oz) jar for €80, or around $90.

Snail eggs have found spots on the menu by being fried with beef, placed in canapes, and used in salads. In Barcelona, snail eggs are sold in bags of about 0.9 kilograms (2 lbs) each and marketed as white caviar. The going price for a bag of these eggs is £1,600.

France has also joined in the snail egg craze. In one restaurant, they are cooked by using a secret recipe and served on toast. Their taste is comparable to a smokier, herbier caviar. Snails’ eggs are also served by being grilled with a Sauternes sabayon sauce.

Eating snail eggs might seem bizarre. But in France, high demand exists due to the superstition that these eggs can enhance your sex life and make you live longer.^[7]

3 Shark

Known as the apex predators of the ocean, sharks sit at the top of the food chain when it comes to other sea-dwelling creatures. For humans, sharks are something to be feared—and eaten. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in shark consumption. Whether it is their meat or their fins in soup, sharks have found themselves on the menu.

And if you’re lucky and find a female shark with unfertilized eggs? Those, too, can and will be eaten.

The eggs from female sharks are large, similar to chicken eggs, and can actually be cooked in the same fashion. In the Maldives, consumption of gulper shark eggs was so high that restrictions on shark fishing had to be put in place.

A popular method of preparing shark eggs is grinding them, allowing them to be easily added to different meals. Ground and dried shark eggs provide numerous dietary benefits, including adding nutrients that are missing in people’s diets.

In addition to being used in omelets, shark eggs can be boiled, fried, and even baked. A recipe exists for creating scones with shark eggs, if one dares to try it.^[8]

2 Octopus

Ordering octopus on a menu seems like a no-brainer—except when the octopus’s head is filled with eggs.

Octopus eggs, commonly known as octopus roe, are not eaten the same way as other eggs are. The female’s eggs are still inside the octopus when the animal is cooked whole and eaten. In some places, such as Japan, the eggs are taken out and used to top sushi.

If the octopus is large enough, such as the mizudako from the North Pacific, the eggs can be used instead of meat or vegetables inside the sushi. But for many, eating the eggs along with the octopus itself is the norm.^[9]

After the octopus is cooked, the eggs are similar in texture to rice once the octopus is opened. The taste of these cooked eggs is said to be sweet and nutty.

In some places, the egg sac is sold so that the eggs can be prepared and served raw. A story like this went viral, calling such eggs “alien eggs” and spurring public confusion. Though they aren’t alien eggs, eating an octopus’s eggs might just be an out-of-this-world experience.

1 Penguin

Nothing is sweeter than watching two penguin parents switch off caring for their egg—except for the egg, that is. With limited resources in Antarctica, having a craving for an omelet might put you in a tough spot. Unless you have a penguin egg nearby.

Back when the French were exploring Antarctica for the first time, a crew led by Jean-Baptiste Charcot became ill during their expedition. Eating penguin eggs, which are packed with protein and vitamins, helped the men to regain their strength. In many cases, penguin eggs were used as the only option when it came to sources of protein that weren’t meat.

While eating penguins has been banned since the early 2000s, those in the Antarctic relied on penguin meat and eggs to keep them nourished. Penguin eggs were a staple in many Antarctic diets because they can be stored for up to a year and are larger than chicken eggs.^[10]

When cooked, the yolk never truly sets and the eggs sometimes appear bright orange. Despite this, penguin eggs are high in protein, which makes them beneficial in cold climates. The most popular way to eat them is scrambled with just a bit of toast. Still, it’s probably best to just leave penguin eggs alone.

Dozens of Stephen King’s short stories and novels have been adapted into film and television, and it seems every one has its own love affair with the rest of King’s work.

The various King adaptations are packed with easter eggs and references to other titles, and it’s no surprise—King constantly does the same in the books themselves. Maybe it’s the oft-shared settings in and around Maine, maybe it’s King’s patchwork attempts at establishing a shared universe, or maybe it’s just self-congratulatory fun. Regardless of why King always references King, the same holds true for his movies and television shows.

This list is dedicated to ten of the cheekiest of those self-referential winks, times when King and his adaptors posed the question, “Say, do you remember King and his adaptors?”

Related: 10 Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed In Famous Crime Films

10 The Dark Tower – Pennywise

Stephen King always intended The Dark Tower to unite his many works into one shared multiverse, so pulling easter eggs from it feels like cheating. But because the movie was a Nikolaj Arcel adaptation, I’m calling it open season. Of its many easter eggs, it’s the unmistakable It reference that stands out.

At one point in the film, the young shine-empowered hero Jake Chambers finds himself stumbling through the ruins of the universe known as Mid-World. There, he wanders into the ruins of an ancient theme park. What remains is a half-buried statue with its clown hand emerging into the surface, holding Pennywise’s trademark bunch of balloons, as well as a theme park ride, labeled oh-so-subtly “Pennywise.”

9 Castle Rock – “Wanna See a Body?”

Let’s continue with getting the easy easter eggs out of the way first. Like The Dark Tower, Castle Rock’s TV show is also meant as a bridge between King’s various stories. Many locations, props, and even characters themselves are direct references to various King books. However, some of the show’s easter eggs are more subtle and unexpected, like one brief nod to Stand By Me.

As King has come to be known as a master of horror, some forget that he also penned the story that became the classic coming-of-age film Stand By Me. The movie’s inciting incident is young Vern’s sincere question to his gang of friends, “You guys wanna go see a dead body?” The same line shows up in Castle Rock episode five, when the Kid stands atop a roof, overwhelmed by a deluge of internal voices. Amidst the crowded chorus, one voice cuts through the rest and says, “Wanna see a body?”

8 It – Turtles

Fans of King lore will know of Maturin, the massive, god-like turtle that birthed at least one of the universes and who doesn’t look very highly upon Pennywise. In the novel, Maturin makes direct appearances, communicating with Bill and offering the boy advice and encouragement. Though its parts were cut from the movie, director Andy Muschietti included a few winks to the divine reptile.

Throughout both movies, during pivotal or emotionally charged scenes, turtles find their way onto the screen. They come in the form of a turtle sticker, turtle Lego bricks, turtle statues, and conversations about actual turtles. However, the most subtle reference (because it’s never stated in the movie) is that the root Mike obtains from the Native Americans to guide him on his journey is itself named Maturin. As director Muschietti said, “Maturin’s still there in the movie. It’s just not personified by a giant turtle.”

7 Pet Sematary – Cujo

The original Pet Sematary novel contained an overt reference to Cujo and its titular murderous St. Bernard. In the book, old neighbor Jud Crandall tells the protagonist, Louis Creed, about a rabid dog that killed four people a few years ago. The same story made its way into the 2019 film adaptation, but the story became even darker.

In the movie, Jud again tells the story, but this time to a guest in the middle of a child’s birthday party. It’s an inappropriate story for that setting and makes you question Jud’s judgment. More than that, it makes you wonder how that version of Maine could have so much bad luck with pets in just a few years.

6 The Mist – Gunslinger Roland

The 2007 big-screen adaptation of King’s The Mist was a tense and violent horror that provided some solid commentary on partisan factionalism. Perhaps the most notable part of the film is its ending: a bleak, anguish-laden sequence that pulls a complete 180 from King’s original, happier ending. As far as easter eggs go, however, it’s the opening shot that wins a spot on our list.

The very first shot is of protagonist David Drayton, painting Roland the Gunslinger from The Dark Tower. The painting is unmistakable, between the gun in the figure’s hand, his bandoliers, the solitary red rose, and the literal dark tower behind him. The figure looks like Clint Eastwood, reflecting the early Dark Tower cover art that portrayed Roland as a carbon copy of Eastwood.

5 The Shining – Hedge Maze Foreshadowing

Stanley Kubrick’s film version of The Shining is likely the best King adaptation ever, and ironically the one King likes the least. Regardless, it’s a classic. Its heavy use of symbolism, combined with Kubrick’s reputation as an obsessive auteur, has caused fans to pick over every frame of the film for symbols, allusions, foreshadowing, and even evidence that the moon landing was faked. Whether all or any of it is real, there is no end to the theories. One such clever observation is how the film cleverly foreshadowed its hedge maze ending.

For one thing, there’s Jack’s first tie, a decidedly forest-green affair with a large, exaggerated knit pattern that crisscrosses over itself, forming what looks eerily like a hedge maze. For another, there are the cartoons Danny watches. The first cartoon he watches shows Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner through a literal maze of train tracks. The following cartoon Danny turns on features the same Looney pair, this time accompanied by a song that goes, “The coyote’s after you, Road Runner. If he catches you, you’re through.”

4 It: Chapter 2 – “Here’s Johnny!”

Speaking of The Shining, It: Chapter 2 references the horror classic that is unusually obvious for a non-multiverse-driven King film. Perhaps the single most famous piece of dialogue from The Shining comes from Jack Torrence as he breaks down a bathroom door, sticks his head through, and yells, “Here’s Johnny!” It: Chapter 2 repeats the line and shot almost exactly.

When Bev ends up stuck in a bathroom stall, Pennywise tries to force his way in, taking on the forms of the people closest to Bev and pushing on the door. In the form of bully Henry Bowers, Pennywise sticks his head through the cracked door and delivers the classic Nicholson line. The shot is even framed the same way as the original Kubrick shot.

3 It – Tim Curry Cameo

Tim Curry delivered a memorable performance as Pennywise in the 1990 It miniseries, and the 2017 film was essentially guaranteed to shout him out in some way. It did indeed, in the form of an unmistakably Curry-styled Pennywise doll.

In the film, Richie finds himself trapped in a room with dozens of frightening clown dolls, all variations on the Pennywise theme. One clown on the left has the exact hair, makeup, and outfit that Curry’s Pennywise wore, and the reference is clear.

2 Doctor Sleep – Original Danny

Many easter eggs are obvious and easy, but the reason this particular egg from Doctor Sleep gets the number two spot is that it seemed like the absolute last thing that would ever make it into the film.

During a little league game in which the villainous True Knots scouts out a young player with shine, the camera shifts to a conversation between two onlookers in the stands. One of those two men is actually a grown-up Danny Lloyd, who played the original Danny Torrance as a child. As fun as that is, it becomes much more impressive when you find out that Danny Lloyd retired from acting after The Shining and his Doctor Sleep cameo was his first acting job in 38 years.

1 It: Chapter 2 – Bad Endings

Perhaps the best easter egg from any King-based film comes in It: Chapter 2 in the form of King personally roasting himself. Throughout the film, a running gag is that Bill, now grown up and a successful writer, is talented and beloved—aside from his crappy endings. This is a nod to probably the most common criticism King gets in real life: that his books are wonderful but never end satisfactorily.

Taking it even farther, King himself cameos in the film and personally says to Bill that his endings stink. It shows a lot of endearing humility on King’s part, or if looked at another way, a bird flipped to his constant critics. Either way, it’s a fun easter egg and a natural culmination to King’s long career of referencing himself.

Once again, it’s time to call out the bored, overcaffeinated programmers of this environment we call reality. As we have pointed out on multiple occasions, despite all the obvious and serious problems with the programming, they still apparently find time to leave strange, nonsensical things in unlikely places—purely to screw with us.

We would like to point out that noted extremely smart person Elon Musk has publicly stated his belief that the likelihood that we are not living in a simulated reality is one in billions. We would also like to point out that we appear to have been slightly ahead of the curve on this. Mr. Musk, on the off chance that you are reading this, consider this series an ongoing catalog of evidence to support your assertion.

10 Ponyhenge

On a small parcel of farmland in Lincoln, Nebraska, you can find a herd of horses, currently numbering about 30. The difference between this and any number of other horse gatherings you might find in the area will be immediately obvious: They’re old-style rocking horses—some wood, some plastic, all silently standing in a circle facing each other. Their number has slowly grown over the last several years, and nobody in town has the same story about how the first one got there.

Some say it began as part of a Halloween display. One man remembers a couple of kids with a lemonade stand bringing the first two. Then more kept appearing seemingly every month, placed among their creepy brethren by unknown visitors. Rather than petering out over the years, the proliferation of horses seems to be increasing and their positions in the field change often, also by unknown means.

Local residents love the display, unofficially known as “Ponyhenge,” and profess to not want to know where the horses are coming from. With their number doubling over the course of a recent year, however, some are starting to kick around the idea of culling the herd. If you ask us, messing with those horses in any way sounds like a terrible idea.

9 The Clown Motel

Located in the middle of a giant desert off a lonely highway, the tiny former mining town of Tonopah, Nevada, is pretty much exactly where you would expect to find a creepy motel. It’s the sort of motel you’d be reluctant to stay in for fear of a terminal case of the willies, at the very least. But Tonopah’s aptly named Clown Motel is the sort of creepy place that would make a certain type of person—the type who can’t even look at the picture accompanying this entry—floor the gas pedal and speed off screaming into the night.

Yes, this sleepy town of 2,500 is home to the world’s only (we hope) Clown Motel, and it’s not just a name. Each room is clown-themed, featuring clown dolls and portraits of famous clowns. But that’s not all—the lobby is filled with clown dolls, too. Hundreds and hundreds of them.

As if this isn’t enough, Tonopah is home to an old prospectors’ cemetery that was established in 1901. Its residents include a bunch of townspeople who died in a mysterious, turn-of-the-century plague and 14 miners who died in a horrific mine fire. With its rusted metal fence and dilapidated old graves, it looks like a nightmare come to life with the history to back it up. And where is the cemetery located?

Why, it’s right next to the Clown Motel.

8 419.99 Mile Marker

If you’ve ever seen a highway mile marker, and we’re pretty sure you have, you’ll notice immediately something wrong with the one above. Situated on Interstate 70 next to the tiny Colorado burg of Stratton, it appears to be missing the other 99 signs marking off the hundredths of this particular mile.

But it’s not a mistake or part of an unreasonably extensive highway marking program. The marijuana-related signifier “420” is particularly dear to residents of this state, and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) workers replaced the Mile 420 marker with this one after getting tired of replacing it.

Unfortunately for the crews who do maintenance on I-70, there are only two other highways in Colorado that run long enough to have this problem—and the other two simply forgo the Mile 420 marker altogether. Why this novel solution was chosen for I-70 is unclear, but it has worked. The new marker has remained untouched. Apparently, nobody wants to be perpetually stuck 0.01 miles away from party time.

Strangely enough, this is not the first time this trick has been employed on the very same highway. CDOT officials were forced to install a Mile 68.5 marker after repeated theft of . . . well, you get the idea. In answer to your question, no, Colorado is not composed entirely of college students, but it is getting close.

7 The Bug Carousel

The Bronx Zoo is 265 acres of nature plunked down in the heart of New York City. Over 100 years old, it is a Big Apple institution. Its Butterfly Garden draws over 300,000 visitors per season, but its companion carousel may make some of those visitors run shrieking all the way to Manhattan.

Yes, the carousel features 64 hand-carved, frighteningly large likenesses of insects with a bevy of different species that are all impressively (or disturbingly, depending on your point of view) detailed. The 15-meter (50 ft) carousel has serviced hundreds of thousands of riders since opening in 2005 and is billed as the world’s first and only carousel with a lineup entirely of insects, which we are not sure needed to be clarified.

What kind of carousel music must be featured on such a ride? We’re glad you asked. Its sound track is composed of insect sounds, courtesy of the Wildlife Conservation Society. If the carousel’s space ever becomes needed for a different exhibit, we suggest moving it to Tonopah, Nevada. For some reason, we feel like it would feel right at home there.

6 Waitomo Glowworm Caves

Located outside the Waitomo Township on New Zealand’s Northern Island is an extensive series of underground caves that have become a local attraction. They were discovered near the turn of the 19th century by a Maori chief and a British surveyor who ventured into the caves by candlelight to map them out—only to quickly realize that the candles weren’t necessary.

The caves are home to an enormous population of Arachnocampa luminosa, which is a species of glowworm native to New Zealand and not a spell that you remember from a Harry Potter novel. As the name implies, the worms are bioluminescent. Hundreds of thousands of them populate the Waitomo caves’ grotto, giving off an otherworldly glow and illuminating the naturally carved limestone formations among the caverns’ many twists and turns.

While visitors could be forgiven for thinking they’ve stumbled upon a portal to outer space, locals have been enjoying the attraction for over 100 years. The caves are currently maintained by the government, with the first guided tours given in 1889 by the same Maori chief who helped to discover them.

5 The Blue Flash

The small town of Bruceville, Indiana, is right in the heart of flyover country, the type of town where there’s very little to do and not much worth stopping for. One day in the early 2000s, resident John Ivers got it into his head that the town really needed a roller coaster. So with a handful of tools, a bunch of scrap metal, and absolutely no experience, he decided to build one right in his backyard.

Despite the ride lasting only 24 seconds, the Blue Flash, as it came to be called, has many of the features prized by coaster enthusiasts: an initial hill followed by a steep drop (up and over the work shed John used to build it), plenty of twists and curves, and even a loop. Why did he do it? John explained, “You know, there are a lot of good engineers who design roller coasters, big coasters, but not in their backyard, you know.” Fair enough.

Beginning the project with his grandchildren in mind, John apparently finished work on the coaster in a white heat before realizing that his grandchildren were still toddlers at the time and would fall right out of the cars while navigating the loop. Deciding that this would not do, he built a second coaster—Blue Too—a kinder, gentler coaster that’s just right for small kids.

Visitors from around the world have come to ride the Flash, which frankly seems like a lot of trouble for a 24-second ride in the middle of nowhere.

4 Toronto’s Neighborhood Watch Signs

One day, Canadian artist Andrew Lamb (not his real name) decided that his Toronto suburb’s neighborhood watch signs were lacking in aesthetic value. A comic book fan, Lamb used a laser printer to produce a comic book splash page featuring a bunch of superheroes. He affixed it to one of the signs, stepped back, and saw that it was good. But Lamb was far from satisfied.

Despite his actions being, well, illegal (hence the use of a pseudonym), Lamb has gone on to creatively deface, by his count, a total of 68 neighborhood watch signs throughout Toronto with only a handful of duplicates. He does not try to hide his activities and says that only a couple of residents have offered complaints of any kind. Most offer positive feedback while he works. He also says that he has been contacted with requests for modification of certain signs and suggestions for new characters to use.

Although potential criminals may not necessarily be deterred by the suggestion that the Incredible Hulk or RoboCop is watching over their target neighborhoods, officials don’t seem terribly concerned. Lamb began his project after noticing that the lettering on the signs faded in the sun but the black border did not, leaving the perfect canvas for his outsider art. His personal favorites: Ellen Ripley from the Alien film series and bumbling detective Frank Drebin from The Naked Gun.

3 The Cave Of Kelpius

In the middle of Philadelphia along the Wissahickon Creek on Hermit Lane lies a secret cave that is stumbled upon by few. Although this is not the beginning of our modern fantasy novel, it may as well be. The plaque standing by the cave notes that it was built by “The Original Rosicrucian” Johannes Kelpius, a German mystic who arrived in Philadelphia shortly after its founding.

Claiming to draw on the wisdom of the ancient Egyptians, the Rosicrucians were a not-so-secret society that began in 17th-century Germany. Kelpius and his followers, known as the “Hermits of Wissahickon,” lived in seclusion in this area, engaging in deep meditation and assisting city residents when called upon.

This was going fine until the group’s apparent transformation into what must be one of the original doomsday cults. Based on his interpretation of the biblical book of Revelation, Kelpius announced that he had determined that the world would come to an end in 1694. When the target date came and went with no global annihilation, the date was revised to 1700.

This went on until 1708 when Kelpius died and his remaining followers disbanded. All that is left of their settlement is this dark, dry cave which was used for intensive meditation and awaiting the end of the world. Cyclists and hikers who find themselves far off the beaten path can stumble across this eerie, near-forgotten relic of Philadelphia’s history.

2 The Seven Noses Of Soho

Strolling through the streets of London’s Soho neighborhood, one might notice that several of the buildings have some rather unique features. Neither architectural nor decorative features, no, we actually mean human features. Noses, to be specific. There are seven of them cast in metal and affixed to random buildings throughout the area.

The honkers are the work of artist Rick Buckley, who in 1996 created the seven sculptures from a cast of his own proboscis. Somehow, the legend spread that anyone who is able to find all seven will gain infinite wealth, which sounds like a video game side quest if we have ever heard of one.

While some of the noses are as plain as the nose on the side of a building (sorry, we couldn’t resist), others are quite difficult to find, which is to be expected if infinite wealth is the prize. Local tour groups have organized walking tours of the seven noses, a combination of words we never expect to see again, let alone type. So perhaps the infinite wealth deal was only good for the first person to discover all seven. We can think of a few good candidates, but none of the Kardashians are talking.

1 The World’s Biggest Ghost Town

The historically politically tumultuous country of Myanmar (aka Burma) has one of the largest capital cities in the world. Unveiled to the world in 2005, Naypyidaw is six times the size of New York City, and estimates of its construction cost run upward of $4 billion. The city has all of the most modern amenities—malls, hotels, brand-new restaurants with free Wi-Fi, and a 20-lane superhighway running right through the middle. The only thing it doesn’t have is residents.

Although the military regime that undertook the city’s construction was ousted from power in 2011, the current government insists that its capital city is a bustling metropolis of over one million residents, an assertion whose absurdity is apparent simply by looking around. Road maintenance and construction workers are often the only signs of life on the city’s wide, clean, empty streets (yes, construction is still ongoing), and traffic is such that the BBC television show Top Gear was able to stage a drag race down its main road during its alleged rush hour.

While the motivation for moving the country’s capital to the middle of nowhere where no residents will ever venture remains unclear, rumors are that the country’s officials were wary of an amphibious US invasion because the old capital of Rangoon was close to the sea. If this seems a little paranoid, it may help to know that Myanmar is one of the only countries on Earth that is friendly with North Korea.