To paraphrase Groucho Marx, "we don't want to belong to any club that would accept us as members" Yesterday, we shared some of the things that Yahoo!s have never done -- and don't care who knows it. While the first round of confessions dealt with television shows we've never seen, today's round concentrates on travel and food. Pretty much everyone has a place they've always wanted to visit, or a location they return to over and over. But there are places that we've never been to -- and couldn't care less if we did. In my case, it's Walt Disney World. I know there are millions who share a fervor to visit the Magic Kingdom and who go annually -- or even more than once a year, but I can think of fewer places that hold less interest than the greater Orlando area. Other than heat, humidity, and crowds, I can't see what they offer. But where do Yahoo!s long to not travel to? Sarah: I have never been to Las Vegas, even though I grew up just off the 15 freeway in Southern California. Despite how glamorous it looks in the movies, I have no interest in gambling, buffets, or rooftop amusement parks. Richard: I’ve never been to Canada Eugenia: I’ve never gone camping! Mitzi: I’ve never done any traditional camping (tent, sleeping bag, etc.). Never been to Walt Disney World/Epcot (although I’ve been to Disneyland many times).(Editor’s note: Ditto and good for you!) Now, there are plenty of us who don't own a television or who never travel, but one thing we all have in common is eating. Some of us may have more limited menus than other, but we all need sustenance -- excepting, of course, those things we've never eaten or restaurants we don't want to visit. Myself, I've never eaten lobster and have no desire to. Those giant waterbugs just look disgusting and the whole process of cracking open the shells is repulsive. Anyone else? Mitzi: Never eaten at the Olive Garden (and don’t plan to). Ali: I really don't consider this to be noteworthy, but since you're being so inclusive ... I have never had a cup of tea or coffee. I'd never really thought about that in the "never" sense, so thank you for the opportunity to feel incomplete. Lydia: I’ve never eaten a bagel. At first, it was because bagels pale in comparison to the sweeter pastries that my palette demands for breakfast. Now, it’s more so I can say “I’ve never eaten a bagel” on random occasions -- like in a blog about random things people have never done. What say you, gentle reader? Anyplace you have no desire to visit? Is there some delectable dish that turns you off? Tell us about it, and we'll be back tomorrow with more stuff we can't wait not to do. Suggested Sites... I Hate Disney World - ...and so do her kids. I Hate Las Vegas - and he's the editor of a travel magazine! Why I Hate Camping - all of these only prove we're right not to have done this stuff. I Hate Coffee - you wonder why we don't want to try it? The Spark: Don't Forget the Jellied Eels! - a whole bunch of foods we don't want any part of, from pork brains in milk gravy to cheeseburger in a can.

Directory categories: Walt Disney World, Camping, Las Vegas, Bagels, Camping Equipment

Archived under: Amusement Parks, Camping, Canada, Coffee, Disney, Disneyland, Eating, Food and Drink, In Character, Italian Food, Las Vegas, Outdoors, Recreation and Travel, Restaurants, Tea, The Spark, Tourist Attractions, Travel, Yahoo!

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So if it got really hot, would the building pop? (Photo by brendagayle) Just west of Sioux Falls, in the small South Dakota community of Mitchell, there stands an elaborate palace of corn, complete with onion domes and minarets. Sounds nutritious, delicious, and downright fascinating, doesn't it? We thought so, too. Today, on the first day of the annual Corn Palace Festival, we here at the Spark would like to honor Mitchell's most renowned landmark: the world's one and only Corn Palace. For over 100 years, the Corn Palace has served as a place where city residents and their rural neighbors could gather to celebrate the end of the crop-growing season and harvest. It was originally built as an artistic expression to extol the fertility of South Dakota soil. Just to be clear, the palace isn't itself made of corn, but is instead covered in it: Large murals constructed entirely from locally-grown corn and other grains adorn the many facades of the structure. Each year (with the exception of 2006, when the redesign was nixed due to drought) invites a new theme -- subjects like "Lewis and Clark" and "Everyday Heroes" have been interpreted in painstaking, granular detail by local artists, including the distinguished Native American painter, Oscar Howe. This year's theme, "American Destinations," was developed and crafted by Cherie Ramsdell, who has been at the artistic helm since 2003. It honors the United States' most celebrated tourist destinations, including the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, Kennedy Space Center, and, naturally, the Corn Palace itself. If, in your travels, you happen to be near South Dakota this week, we urge you to stop by Mitchell for some great music, fantastic food, and a tour of the nation's "corniest" (argh!) roadside attraction. You can't miss it -- just follow the hungry birds. Suggested Sites... Corn Palace Convention and Visitors Bureau - everything to do and see in Mitchell, SD -- including the world's only corn palace. Corn Palace Festival - official site of the annual harvest festival. City of Mitchell - official site for the city of Mitchell, South Dakota. Corn Palace Webcam - check out live images of the famous Corn Palace. YouTube: Corn Palace - 1 of a Kind - AFN commercial promoting South Dakota's Corn Palace.

Directory categories: Entertainment and Arts in Mitchell, SD, Roadside Attractions, Buildings and Structures, Corn, Mitchell, South Dakots

Archived under: Architecture, Arts, Buildings, Corn, Corn Palace, Creativity, Decorating, Design, Events, Festivals, Food and Drink, Midsummer, Popcorn, Recreation and Travel, Regional, Roadside Attractions, Sculpture, Small Towns, Summer, Tourist Attractions, Travel, United States, Vegetables, Weird Stuff

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"Anybody see the Mona Lisa? She was hanging there just a minute ago" How is it that the most famous painting in the world could simply vanish, its disappearance not noted for 24 hours, and then not be found until nearly two years later? As with most mysteries, the disappearance of the "Mona Lisa" is certainly stranger than fiction. It was August 21, 1911, when the painting's absence was first noted by Louvre staff. The museum was shut down for a week so that the entire 49-acre facility could be searched. All employees and administrators were ruthlessly questioned by Paris police and many staffers were fired. France's borders were closed and all international shipments were subject to search and seizure. In short, it was the "Crime of the Century" (and offered a convenient distraction from the international conflicts that would evenutally lead to World War I). When the "Mona Lisa's" disappearance became public, everyone had a theory as to the identity of the perpetrators. Could it be an obsessive American art collector? An angry anti-establishment poet? A foreign conman and art forger? Or maybe it was the world’s foremost artist, Pablo Picasso. Picasso was actually questioned by police after being implicated by his friend and fellow suspect Guillaume Apollinaire, but both were eventually exonerated. For hunt continued for two years, but the trail went cold. In late 1913, however, Italian authorities arrested a former Louvre employee named Vincenzo Peruggia. Peruggia had been turned in by two local art experts (one the director of the Uffizi Gallery) after he attempted to sell the "Mona Lisa" in Florence. Peruggia's motive was political: he was angered by the plunder of Italian artwork more than a century before during the Napoleonic Wars and was attempting to restore the painting to its rightful homeland. Peruggia was convicted by an Italian court, but served minimal time and eventually returned to Paris. Embarrassed by the publicity surrounding the painting's theft and rediscovery, French art authorities allowed the "Mona Lisa" to tour Italy before she was returned to the Louvre, where she remains to this day. Even today, the "Mona Lisa" continues to evoke strong emotions. In 1956, two separate vandals attempted to damage the painting by throwing acid and a rock at it. Several years later, the painting was encased in bulletproof glass, which helped protect Mona in 1974, when another vandal tried to spray her with red paint. And just last week, a woman gained publicity (and probably jail time) by hurling a ceramic mug at poor Mona. Meanwhile, the success of the book and film "The DaVinci Code" (as well as other books) has renewed interest in that enigmatic smile (not to mention other features) for whole new generations. The true story of the theft of the "Mona Lisa" may not be as exciting as something out of "The DaVinci Code," but it is certainly has its own elements that would make any mystery fan proud: scandal, celebrity, politics, and some good old-fashioned detective work. Suggested Sites... Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of the Mona Lisa - a new book by R.A. Scotti that explores the painting's disappearance and its widespread appeal. The Crimes of Paris - also new in literature. Dorothy and Thomas Hoober's fictional account of the theft of the "Mona Lisa," focusing on the efforts of a French detective to find it. The Louvre - official site for Mona Lisa's home. Virtual Tour of Le Louvre - take a walk around the home of the world's artistic and historical treasures.

Directory categories: Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, Le Louvre, Stolen Art, French History

Archived under: 1910s, Anniversaries, Art Museums, Artists, Arts, Crime, Criminals, Da Vinci Code, Detectives, Disappearances, Europe, European History, France, History, Images, Italy, Louvre, Museums, Mysteries, Secrets, Tourist Attractions, Women

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(Photo by Jason Meredith) Back in the good ol' days, county and state fairs celebrated a region's agricultural achievements and drew folks in from the fields for a day of fun. Even though fewer of us live on farms nowadays, a day at the fair is still one heck of an occasion. As soon as you arrive on the midway, that unmistakable smell hits you: equal parts hot asphalt, deep fryer, and livestock. The fairgrounds reek of summer -- and everything else. Whatever your penchant, the fair's got it: prize-winning veggies and crafts, animal races of all sorts, stinky livestock pens, carnival rides, good-time music in the band shell, and lots and lots (and lots) of food -- most of it deep-fried. (Deep-fried latte? Gross!) The mind boggles at how many types of food can be served on a stick. Corn dogs are so passé! Cutting-edge fairgoers save the sticks for such nouveau delights as teriyaki ostrich, roasted alligator, and fried Twinkies. But, if you prefer your animals uncooked and without sticks, you can always count on the 4-H kids to parade the fluffy bunnies, pink piglets, and cute cows. Suggested Sites... State Fair Dates - find out when your fair is happening. Exhibiting and Judging Garden Vegetables - key techniques for blue-ribbon veggies. Meet Me at the Fair - Flickr Photo Group - it's almost like being there. How to Beat Carnival Games - better your chances of winning a prize. Deep-Fried Fair Food - mac-n-cheese, peanut butter and jelly, Oreos, hard-boiled eggs? Is there nothing they won't deep-fry?

Directory categories: State Fairs, Deep-Fried Dessert Recipes, 4-H, County Fairs, Livestock

Archived under: Amusement Parks, Animals, Awards, Celebrations, Contests, Crafts, Entertainment, Events, Festivals, Food and Drink, Fried Food, Junk Food, Regional, Summer, Tourist Attractions, Travel, United States

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The perfect meal: an In-N-Out "Double-Double" with fries (Photo by Elliot) On July 28, 1900, a hungry customer rushed into Louis Lassen's luncheonette in New Haven, CT, and asked for something that he could eat on the run. Lassen slapped a broiled beef patty between two slices of bread and invented the hamburger. Or did he? There's an old saying that "success has a hundred fathers, while failure is an orphan," and nowhere is that adage truer than in the question of exactly who invented the hamburger. Given its phenomenal success (Americans alone consume some forty billion per year), it's not surprising that there are at least three other claimants to the title "Father of the Hamburger." The earliest contenders seem to be the Menches brothers (Frank and Charles), itinerant sandwich vendors who traveled the state- and county-fair circuit at the end of the 19th century. In 1895, they ended up at the Buffalo Fair at the Hamburg Fairgrounds. Local butchers were unable to provide the boys with their usual pork sausages, so they substituted ground beef flavored with "coffee beans and brown sugar, and other ingredients that remain a secret" (yum!). The sandwich became a hit and took its name from the venue, which would seem to end the controversy. Except that, also in 1895, Charlie Nagreen was trying to sell meatballs at the Seymour Fair in Seymour, WI. The fair was a hit, but Nagreen was not. Meatballs are tasty, but aren't necessarily easy to eat while walking through a fair. Charlie was seized with the idea of making them more portable by smashing them between, yes, two slices of bread, and they immediately became a hit. Since loaves of ground beef, known as "Hamburg steaks," (named after the city in Germany) were a popular meal, Nagreen named his invention the "Hamburger sandwich," which was soon shortened to "hamburger." The least-likely innovator was Fletcher Davis, who owned a lunch counter in Athens, TX (the self-proclaimed "Black-Eyed Pea Capital of the World"). Davis, according to oral reports, had been serving a ground-beef sandwich as early as the 1880s. He claimed to have sold the sandwich at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis (where the sandwich was undoubtedly served -- the New York Tribune wrote about the sensation it caused), but unfortunately, there’s no hard evidence to prove that Davis was the man serving them. (Though McDonald's does give the St. Louis fair credit for serving the burger, in spite of the earlier documented examples.) Regardless of who invented the hamburger, it's become as much a part of American culture as, well, apple pies and the hot dog (and don’t get us started on who invented that) -- from backyard cookouts and drive-ins to such noted fanciers as J. Wellington Wimpy and Forsthye P. (Jughead) Jones. The sandwiches range in size from normal to large to beyond jumbo to ridiculous, and while some of us are satisfied with just one, there are some folks who can finish off 103 sliders (in ten minutes!) or a 9-pound giant in less than half an hour. But if you don't mind, all this burger talk has made us hungry. We'll take ours medium with ketchup, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, pickles, and a touch of mustard, please. Suggested Sites... Louis' Lunch - where the hamburger was invented. Menches Brothers - news about the other inventors of the hamburger. Home of the Hamburger - another place where the hamburger was invented. Home of the Original Hamburger - and yet one more. A Hamburger Today - burger blog with ketchup, mustard -- and opinions.

Directory categories: Hamburger Recipes, Hamburger Restaurants, Fast Food Restaurants, Food and Drink Blogs, Fast Food Calorie Counters

Archived under: American History, Anniversaries, Cooking, Creativity, Eating, Fast Food, Food and Drink, Hamburgers, History, Invention, Inventors, Restaurants, Sandwiches, Tourist Attractions

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