Smarty pants: Princeton, New Jersey's Albert Einstein museum in a clothing store

 This unassuming Ivy League clothing store houses the world's only permanent Albert Einstein exhibit.

 Go figure (literally).

 Albert Einstein's desk and chalkboard.

 Some of Landau's fine tweeds.

 In 2005, Princeton put up a bust of Einstein.

It's in a part of the park called EMC Square. Ba-dum-bum.

Even if you don't know bupkis about science, you've probably heard of the world's most famous equation, E=mc2 or the theory of relativity. That's because a German-born theoretical physicist figured out something so complicated and brainy about the mass of a body and the measure of its energy (or something like that, we're not quite sure) that he became a metaphor for anything mind-numbingly hard and scientific to the average frontally-lobed. That guy was Albert Einstein, of whom, one assumes, it was never said, "well, he's smart but he's no Einstein". One would also assume that someone of such great renown and accomplishment would have several permanent scientific exhibits on college campuses and places of higher learning the world over dedicated to his legacy. One would be wrong. Oh, there is a permanent Albert Einstein exhibit on the campus of Princeton University, where he taught later in his career, but it's not part of the science, math or physics departments. It's in the far back corner of Landau, a 97-year-old clothing store known for its woolen sweaters and tweed blazers. In among the fine lodens, cashmeres and shearlings are a couple of walls with photos, archival documents, posters, t-shirts and other Einsteinabilia. In 1994, while the movie "IQ" starring Walter Matthau as Einstein was being filmed at Princeton, Landau borrowed a lot of Einstein artifacts from locals and put up the exhibit. Five years later the exhibit became permanent. Not a lot, really, for Time Magazine's Man of the Century, but a tribute just the same. In 2005, the university finally put up a bust of Einstein in a nearby park. Why it took Princeton so long to honor its famous resident and the world's most famous scientist is a mystery. Seems like a no-brainer, relatively speaking.

Jersey Girl: The former Miss Uniroyal of Blackwood, New Jersey

Nitro Girl stands in front of Werbany Tire Town, luring in tire customers in with her sex appeal.

 She holds a real car tire and has a harness for back support.

Baby got back.

 Nitro Girl was our third Uniroyal gal spotting. The first was Martha of Martha's Cafe in Blackfoot, Idaho...

 ...and the second was the gloriously restored biker chick of the Farnham Colossi of Unger, West Virginia.

New Jersey and Muffler Men go together like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band, and that includes their female counterpart, the Uniroyal Gal. Named for the tire brand they represented back in the '60s, the gals are a rare find for the eccentric roadside attraction fan. Roadsideamerica.com, the electronic bible of all things Muffler, reports that there are only about 10 or so of these gals still out in public view, so it was worth a trip to Blackwood, New Jersey to see Nitro Girl, the mascot of Werbany Tire Town. She's decked out in a superhero-like blouse and skirt with a flying W logo on her chest and stars on her skirt, go-go boots and flip hair-do. Had we been at Werbany's during normal business hours (and not on a Sunday morning), we might have been able to obtain a Nitro Girl bobblehead doll, as some other patrons have. Alas, we'll have to make do with our memories, for this was a Nitro to remember.

Eccentric street name of the week

Because Street Street would be just plain silly.

Here's looking at you, kid: some old-timey optical viewers seen along the way

This one is Plymouth, Massachusetts...

 ...as is this one.

 Montauk, Long Island, New York

 Hamonasset Beach, Madison, Connecticut

 San Francisco

 Niagara Falls

 This is a cool alternative viewer, also at Niagara Falls, that kinda reminded me of...

 ...Wall-E.

This one from Gloucester, Massachusetts is my all-time favorite.

You know you're at a truly awesome tourist location when they have one of those great old-time optical viewers from the Tower Optical Company. They've been making these binocular viewers since 1932 and the company is still going strong. I love how these machines have kept their sci-fi-of-the-past look they've had ever since I was a kid. Anyone got a quarter?

Freeze a jolly good fellow: the world's largest penguin of Cut Bank, Montana

As we were heading east through Montana on a road trip in 2006, we passed through the small town of Cut Bank and encountered one of those spontaneous roadside attractions that make these kinds of trips well worth the ride: something that claims to be the world's largest something or other, in this case, a penguin.
According to howstuffworks.com, to commemorate its hometown's status as the coldest town in the United States, the town of Cut Bank constructed this concrete penguin in 1989. It looks much older, though, more like it was built in the 1930s. At 27 feet tall and a solid five tons, it beckons to passersby from its spot in front of the Glacier Gateway Inn, a furniture-shop-turned-motel. The penguin talks (when its speaker works), bleating out the slogan, "Welcome to Cut Bank, the Coldest Spot in the Nation!". We were unaware this was a multimedia display, however, so we did not hear the narration, but it was impressive just the same. If big penguins are your thing, Cut Bank awaits you. For more fascinating facts about Cut Bank, you can read about it in black and white here: http://www.answers.com/topic/cut-bank-montana?cat=travel

Where the world's largest buffalo roams: Scenes from Jamestown, North Dakota

 They've got the world's largest buffalo in Jamestown, North Dakota...

 ...next to a field of real buffalo...

 ...and this nice faux/real buffalo three-fer.

 They had a great gift shop in Jamestown when we were there in 2006. Loved these painted saw blades...

 ...and who wouldn't want a commemorative buffalo toilet seat?

Of all the painted boards with holes in them that I've stuck my face through, I like this one the most.

North Dakota is the land of eccentric roadside attractions. About 100 miles from Salem, home of Salem Sue, the world's largest Holstein cow, sits the town of Jamestown and the world's largest concrete buffalo. Unlike Sue, this fellow is nameless. I suppose if Clint Eastwood's character didn't need a name in "The Good The Bad and The Ugly," this guy doesn't need one either. He stands 26 feet tall, 46 feet long and weighs 60 tons. According to the town's website, he was built in 1959 and was the vision of Harold Newman, a local business owner. Eventually a little frontier village was added to attract tourists and now Jamestown boasts 100,000 visitors a year. It just goes to show you that if you build the world's biggest something or another, they will come. The buffalo stands majestically, waiting for tourists to be photographed next to him to impress the folks back home. But wait... there's more! They've got a buffalo museum with real buffalo grazing next to it and a gift shop with just about anything you could want with a buffalo on it. My favorite was the toilet seat. And the skies are not cloudy all day. Read more about Jamestown here: http://www.jamestownnd.com/

Ai yi yi! Dillon, South Carolina's South of the Border

We're still getting over a little touch of ill health so here's another rerun post of one of the eccentric roadside all-time greats: South of the Border in Dillon, South Carolina. Click here to read our previous posts.

I saur them standing there: The Pee Wee dinosaurs of Cabazon, California

We've been a little busy and under the weather lately, so here's a rerun post of one of our all-time faves: the dinosaurs of Cabazon, California seen in the movie "Pee Wee's Big Adventure". Click here to read all about 'em.