Sometimes, you just want to go someplace different. Maybe you want to avoid the crowds, or you simply prefer the unusual. Fortunately, the world is full of amazingly quirky places that, while not traditional destinations, nonetheless make for memorable trips. The average dream vacation usually takes people to fancy beach resorts or Disney World, but most people go on these types of vacations at least once in their lives. Conversely, oddball destinations are an enduring part of Americana, stirring the imagination and putting a smile on the faces of young and old alike.

Here’s our list of unusual attractions at unexpected destinations.

The Museum of Clean — Pocatello, ID

Pocatello’s Museum of Clean gives visitors a taste of how families kept their homes clean throughout history. Started as a passion project by museum founder Don Aslett, the Museum of Clean not only hopes to educate the public on a subject too often ignored by mainstream historians, but to inspire them to embrace a healthy lifestyle. Items in the museum embrace a great breadth of human history, with some artifacts dating back thousands of years and others being used by world leaders. Among the most interesting items in the museum’s collection is the Daniel Hess Carpet Sweeper. Dating back to 1860, the Daniel Hess Carpet Sweeper is the first vacuum cleaner and had to be pulled with a horse and cart. Also of note is a 19th-century washing machine that was powered by dogs running on a treadmill.

Mystic Museum — Burbank, CA

Lovers of spooky fun will be enamored of the Mystic Museum in Burbank, California. Started as a collection of paranormal and occult artifacts, the Mystic Museum now offers a variety of exhibits for those with an interest in things that go bump in the night. One of the museum’s most popular attractions is Camp Horror, an immersive experience that honors the slasher films of the 80s like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Meanwhile, rotating exhibits at the museum offer guests a chance to learn about a variety of spooky subjects. In years past, the museum has put on displays honoring family-friendly horror franchises like The Munsters and The Addams Family while also catering to gore hounds with an entire room dedicated to the Evil Dead franchise.

Cloud Chamber — Raleigh-Durham

Hidden in the woods of Raleigh-Durham is the Cloud Chamber, one of the secret delights of the North Carolina Museum of Art. While resembling the hobbit home of Frodo Baggins, the Cloud Chamber is actually an impressive piece of medieval technology known as a camera obscura. A rudimentary form of optics, a camera obscura uses light and lenses to project an image onto a surface. Coming upon the Cloud Chamber, visitors must close the light-tight door of the low-lying hut to be astounded by the room’s amazing effect. Once the entire room is darkened, a small hole in the top of the ceiling projects images of the surrounding trees and sky onto the chamber’s bare concrete walls. Peaceful and contemplative, the chamber gives visitors the impression of what it feels like to be walking through the clouds and the tops of the nearby trees on a sunny day.

World’s Largest Concrete Gnome — Dubuque, IA

Garden gnomes are among the most common lawn ornaments in the world, protecting front lawns from unruly squirrels and wayward mailmen. While most garden gnomes are no bigger than one or two feet tall, the gnome that calls Iowa State University home is the granddaddy of them all. Going by the name Elwood, this concrete and rebar gnome is a 15-foot cutie that has endeared itself to locals and visitors alike. Along with the honor of standing in Elwood’s presence and taking pictures with the largest concrete gnome in the world, visitors can also explore Reiman Gardens, one of the best nature sanctuaries in the state.

A Real Flying Saucer – Dayton, OH

Back in the early days of the Cold War, people were seeing flying saucers everywhere. The rise of science fiction films and the increasingly sophisticated technology of the era made millions of Americans think that there was a chance that we might not be alone in the universe after all. It was in this environment that airplane developer Avro Canada began developing the Avrocar, an aircraft that used what’s known as the Coanda effect to create lift around a disk-shaped craft. Controlled by two pilots, the Avrocar strongly resembled a flying saucer. Despite the innovative design, test flights proved that the Avrocar was unfeasible for application by the United States Air Force and the project was terminated in 1961. One of the test crafts now rests at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, an enduring tribute to efforts to bring science fiction into the realm of the real world.

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Hell on Earth — Kalamazoo, MI

Most people would agree that Hell is one place that they would never want to be, but one town in Michigan embraces the uniqueness of the infernal moniker. The town was wounded in 1841, and residents still debate the origins of the town’s unusual name. Among the possible roots of the town’s name is founder George Reeves’ nonchalant response to questions of what settlers should call the new community. When prompted to give his opinion, Reeves allegedly replied, “I don’t know, you can name it Hell for all I care.” Whatever the origin, the name stuck, and Hell is now one of Michigan’s most famous unincorporated communities. Along with taking photos with campy signs reminding visitors that they are currently in Hell, guests of can also become mayor for the day, after which they are unceremoniously impeached and removed from office.

Do you have a favorite quirky attraction you’d like to share? Tell us about it in the comments below!