This spud's for you: The Idaho Potato Expo and Potato Museum of Blackfoot, Idaho

 This is what the Expo's fabulous concrete potato looked like when we visited in 2006...

 ...and it appears they have renovated it and put up a more professional sign in the years since. Personally, we prefer the lovably unprofessional-looking lettering from before.

 Inside you'll find a bushel of exhibits...

 ...including this natty burlap tux...

 ...worn by the ironically named C.G. Rice. Perhaps he told his dry cleaners to go light on the starch.

 They've got the world's biggest Pringle on display...

 ...Marilyn Monroe rocking some burlap...

 ...and another big spud.

 There's a potato tune...

 ...and Dan Quayle's autograph on a spud to honor his having trouble with the spelling of the word when he was vice-president.

 They've also got a farm harvesting machine with one of the coolest Space Age potato-related names ever...

 ...Spudnik!

 Be sure to see the Hall of Fame of potato movers and shakers...

 ...and don't miss the awesome multi-media presentation.

Of all the wonderfully eccentric roadside places we've visited, we love the Idaho Potato Expo's giant concrete potato so much we put it on our masthead. When we visited there in 2006, we found it to be everything we'd ever hoped for in an eccentric roadside attraction -- one of those small town, lovably earnest places that's a tribute to something some might find ordinary but others devote themselves to. This is one of the places that makes America great. A sweet, friendly lady greeted us at the front desk/gift shop and was impressed we came all the way from Rhode Island to visit Tater Central. Inside the museum is the story of Idaho potatoes, told in a low-tech way with lots of folk-arty paintings and a-peeling exhibits. At the gift shop, they've whipped up a spud-tacular array of great and goofy tuber souvenirs (alas, though, there was no tuber toothpaste). And, true to their slogan ("We give taters to Out-Of-Staters"), we received a box of yummy hash browns to take home with us! You can't beat, whip, boil or mash that. So don't fritter away your visit to Idaho without visiting the Expo... you'll be in a state of bliss and I yam certain you'll want to you-tuber it to see if there's a mash-up. Tot's all folks!

Out there in TV Land: Rigby, Idaho, birthplace of television and other delights

Rigby's Philo T. Farnsworth invented television, and they want you to know about it.

The smaller the town the bigger the hair, they say.

Ouch!

You should have seen the one that got away.

Alrighty, then.

Of all the atomic-themed quilts out there, I like this one best.

I'm guessing they're father and son.

One of our absolute favorite things to do on road trips is to seek out little museums and historical societies in small towns across this great land of ours and the small eastern Idaho town of Rigby certainly fits this bill grandly. Rigby calls itself "the birthplace of television" because of local resident Philo T. Farnsworth, who imagined the concept of television while plowing potato fields before inventing the vacuum tube television display. A tribute to Farnsworth can be seen at Rigby's Farnsworth TV & Pioneer Museum, a converted former motel that also houses the Jefferson County Historical Society. Inside you'll find all kinds of small town historical gems: photos of big-haired piano-playing ladies and fishermen with their prize catches, local criminology artifacts, books about breastfeeding, and much, much more. Places like this with their "Hey look me over" attitude make driving fun and America great. "All the lovely (sic) people...where do they all come from?" Rigby, that's where.

Martha My Dear: Blackfoot, Idaho's former Uniroyal Gal

You better not tick Martha off, or there could be hell to pay!

Back in 2006 while we were cruising down State Highway 91 on our way to the Idaho Potato Expo, the beloved roadside icon seen on the masthead of this blog, we had an unexpected delight: a giant female fiberglass statue beckoning drivers-by to stop at Martha's Cafe for some (no doubt) delicious eats. She's stupendous! She's colossal! She's got a big wristwatch! Not realizing it at the time, we had stumbled quite accidentally across what some eccentric roadside denizens consider the holy grail of highway kitsch attractions: a Uniroyal Gal — leggy amazons created in the 1960's by the Uniroyal Tire Company as advertising gimmicks and considered sisters to the more plentiful highway Muffler Men. Only a dozen or so remain today, it is reported, most of which have been made over to better represent their new owners after Uniroyal discarded them. Martha went from being a tire gal to a waitress and from a brunette to a blond. The definitive place to learn more about these awesome creatures, RoadsideAmerica.com, reports that Martha has been temporarily taken down for repairs and a makeover and should be back up before the end of summer 2011. Let's hope they don't make her over too much because she's one groovy chick, baby. The original Gals were said to be have been inspired by Jackie Kennedy, so ask not what your amazon advertising icon can do for you, ask what you can do for your amazon advertising icon.

Bet you really can eat just one: The world's biggest Pringle of Blackfoot, Idaho

Thank God these food engineers use their power for good and not evil.

We have yet to be disappointed at seeing anything that bills itself as the "world's biggest," whatever it may be. This was especially true when we were at the Idaho Potato Expo of Blackfoot, Idaho, a place where they take their taters seriously (it's the beloved location of our Eccentric Roadside banner at the top of the blog). They have the world's biggest potato "crisp" on display there, but first, a quick review: a potato "crisp" is made from processed, dehydrated potatoes ala Pringles; a potato "chip" is a thin slice of fresh potato crisply fried ala Lays. And it isn't just us mooks at Eccentric Roadside determining this earth-shattering record...it's in the holy grail of all things record-breaking: the Guinness. It was made by the clever food engineers at Proctor and Gamble, back in 1991 on what one would assume was a rather slow day at the Pringle factory, and measures 25 x 14 inches and weighs 5.4 ounces. And if you're on Jenny Craig, this probably isn't the crisp for you: it's 920 calories, equal to 80 regular can-sized Pringles. The Potato Expo is one of the all-time great eccentric roadside attractions we've been to, so keep your eyes peeled the next time you're in Blackfoot...it's a delight for grownups and tots alike.