Iowa Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff

When Iowa is quirky, it's quirky in a powerfully subtle way. The familiar made strange is much scarier than the strange made strange. Coming upon a three-headed monster from outer space doesn't hold a candle to the shock visitors get from the 13-foot giant sloth wearing a Santa suit in Iowa City.

Iowa is the most normal place on the planet, so the people and places covered in this book will be as everyday as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread, but as twisted as a corn dog dipped in horseradish. As film maker David Lynch ("Blue Velvet," "Eraserhead") shows in his movies, it's what's beneath the surface that's really tells the story. As for Iowa's story, well, we'll let the facts speak for themselves.