The History Around Us

Photo via Chad Elkins

Every year during the Inman Park Festival I pin one or two visitors to the neighborhood stumbling upon a monument and discovering that the very spot where they are buying their funnel cake was once a battleground.  

I have the opposite affliction.  I am the guy who will drive blindly down a dirt road in pursuit of a historic marker dotting a state map.

Before reconnecting with my college buddy Crain Swain on Facebook, I did not realize that there was a name for my obsession - Marker Hunter.  Craig and his compatriots at the Historic Marker Database have amassed an amazing Wikipedia-style catalog of thousands of historic markers, plaques and memorials all around the world.  

This is a must visit site for history geeks, travelers, and family truckster adventurers of all stripes.

HMdb uses Google Maps for directions and search results, making it a snap to find monuments like the James J. Andrews marker tucked away in an obscure block of Midtown Atlanta.  Andrews (the Jimmy Doolittle of the Civil War) was executed near 3rd Street 150 years ago for his exploits in the The Great Locomotive Chase.

Atlanta is chock full of markers, but the HMdb site is foremost a key to finding hidden treasures in lost or forgotten places.  The hunt is what brings history to life!

Miles by Mail

The USPS gets hip tomorrow when it issues stamps honoring Miles Davis and Edith Piaf in a joint release with the French postal service.  This issue continues the groove of last year's Jazz Forever stamp.

Electric Miles fans will recognize the stamp's image as David Gahr's iconic photo from the cover of the Tribute to Jack Johnson album.  

The dedication ceremony takes place tomorrow afternoon at New York's Rubin Museum of Art.   West coast cats can celebrate the release at a June 27 commemoration concert at the Hollywood Bowl led by Herbie Hancock.

Dig it!

Poop Goes Prime Time in Atlanta

If your kids are anything like mine, they will bolt for the car the second they hear the news that the Fernbank Museum in Atlanta has an entire exhibit dedicated to #2.  Running through September 3, The Scoop on Poop answers every question you have ever had about the end game of digestion, and then some.

While there are a few vignettes that creep dangerously close to Bevis and Butt-head territory, the majority of the displays are animal specific and include many fun, interactive components.  The highlight for my crew was the head-to-head dung beetle race.

Some of the video footage is surely having an impact on businesses in the cafeteria, but the appropriately themed selection in the gift shop is surely making up for the loss in revenue.  Be prepared for goodies of all sorts on display in toilets as you make a bee line for the exit. 

Have a great summer everyone!