Every town has a story
The long-form version of every roast: real history, real facts, and the jokes we couldn't fit on a card.
- State College, PennsylvaniaOct 16
State College, Pennsylvania: Where 106,000 Strangers Wear White and the Ice Cream Outshines the Locals
Welcome to State College, Pennsylvania, one of the largest boroughs in the entire Commonwealth. Its population was 40,501 as of the 2020 ...
- Toad Suck, ArkansasOct 14
Toad Suck, Arkansas: The Town With the Best Name and the Worst Dive-Bar Reputation
Let's get the obvious out of the way. Yes, it's real. No, you can't make a sign shop spell it differently. Toad Suck, Arkansas is a place...
- Camden, New JerseyOct 12
Camden, New Jersey: The Soup Capital That Ran Out of Soup (And Other Delights)
Welcome to Camden, New Jersey, a city with a world-famous soup brand, a retired battleship, a hippo habitat, and the best view of Philade...
- Edmonton, CanadaOct 10
Edmonton, Canada: Where Winter Is a Lifestyle and the Mall Has Submarines
Welcome to Edmonton, Alberta, one of the northernmost major cities in North America that you've probably been to exactly once, for a conn...
- Sioux Falls, South DakotaOct 8
Sioux Falls, South Dakota: A Waterfall, a Salad Bar, and Surprisingly Few Regrets
Welcome to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the biggest city in a state that has more cattle than opinions about big cities. It's South Dakota'...
- San Luis Obispo, CaliforniaOct 6
San Luis Obispo, California: Happiest City in America, Chewing on Everyone Else's Gum
Welcome to San Luis Obispo, California, the Central Coast town that locals call SLO, and that is also, coincidentally, how you'll be movi...
- Hanoi, VietnamOct 6
Hanoi, Vietnam: 6 Million Motorbikes, Zero Sidewalks, and the Best Bowl of Phở You'll Ever Cross Traffic For
Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam, a 1,000-year-old capital where ancient dynasties, French colonial boulevards, and a few million two-wheeled co...
- Johannesburg, South AfricaOct 6
Johannesburg, South Africa: The City of Gold That Can't Fix a Pothole (But Is Weirdly Great Anyway)
Welcome to Johannesburg, South Africa, a city built on gold, run on optimism, and navigated entirely by swerving. Locals call it Jozi, Jo...
- Estes Park, ColoradoOct 6
Estes Park, Colorado: Where the Elk Own the Town and You Just Pay for Parking
Welcome to Estes Park, Colorado, the mountain town that looked at Rocky Mountain National Park and said, "What if we put a fudge shop in ...
- Mars, PennsylvaniaOct 6
Mars, Pennsylvania: The Red Planet's Chillier, Apple-Scented Cousin
Forget SpaceX. If you want to visit Mars without a seven-month transit window or a life-support budget, point your Subaru north on Route ...
- Huntsville, AlabamaOct 6
Rocket City, Alabama: A Travel Guide to Huntsville, Where Everyone's a Rocket Scientist (Allegedly)
Welcome to Huntsville, Alabama, the Tennessee Valley city that put humans on the moon and then spent a decade arguing about barbecue sauc...
- Roanoke, VirginiaOct 5
Roanoke, Virginia: The Star City That Still Has Big Lick Energy
Welcome to Roanoke, Virginia, a city of nearly 100,000 people tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains. It has a world-record neon star, a th...
- Sao Paulo, BrazilOct 5
Sao Paulo, Brazil: The Concrete Jungle Where Millionaires Fly and Everyone Else Texts "Trânsito, Desculpa"
Welcome to Sao Paulo, Brazil, a city so big that it has its own weather, its own air traffic system, and its own excuse for being late. T...
- Lowell, MassachusettsOct 5
Lowell, Massachusetts: The Mill City That Won't Stop Telling You About the Mills
Welcome to Lowell, the city that kicked off America's Industrial Revolution and has been coasting on that achievement ever since, like a ...
- Edinburgh, ScotlandOct 5
Edinburgh, Scotland: Tartan Tat, Tram Trauma, and the Month Everyone Pretends to Love Mimes
Welcome to Edinburgh, Scotland's capital, a UNESCO-gilded postcard of crags, castles, and cobbles. It is home to roughly half a million r...
- Salem, OregonOct 5
Salem, Oregon: The Capital City That Gets Mistaken for a Witch Trial
Let's clear something up before you book that road trip: no, this is not the Salem with the witches. This is Salem, Oregon, a place that ...
- Roswell, New MexicoOct 5
Beam Me Up, Chile Cheeseburger: A Roast-Friendly Guide to Roswell, New Mexico
Welcome to Roswell, New Mexico, the city that took one very awkward weekend in 1947 and turned it into a personality. If you've ever want...
- Tombstone, ArizonaOct 5
Too Tough to Die, Too Dusty to Dust: A Smart-Aleck's Guide to Tombstone, Arizona
If you've ever wanted to visit a town that was told its only future was a grave marker and then said "challenge accepted," welcome to Tom...
- Gainesville, FloridaOct 5
Gainesville, Florida: A Swamp, a Stadium, and 60,000 Students Who Swear They're Studying
Welcome to Gainesville, Florida, the kind of place where the alligators are comfortable, the sinkholes are scenic, and the football stadi...
- Clarksville, TennesseeOct 5
Clarksville, Tennessee: The Army-Adjacent Boomtown with a Pink Elephant, a Pretty River, and a Traffic Problem
Welcome to Clarksville, Tennessee, the "Queen of the Cumberland." It is a city that has spent 240-plus years being underestimated, and th...
- Odessa, TexasOct 5
Odessa, Texas: Where the Jackrabbit Is Eight Feet Tall and the Stonehenge Is Slightly Shorter
If you've Googled "Odessa" and found a gorgeous Black Sea port with a UNESCO-listed city center, congratulations, you are in the wrong Od...
- Provo, UtahOct 5
Provo, Utah: Where the Mountain Has One Letter and the Soda Has Extra Dirt
Welcome to Provo, Utah, a city so wholesome that the local rebels are the people who jaywalk. It sits in the shadow of the Wasatch Range,...
- Spread Eagle, WisconsinOct 5
Spread Eagle, Wisconsin: The Town With the Most Awkward Name (and the Free Water Ski Show)
Let's get the giggling out of the way. Yes, there is a place called Spread Eagle, Wisconsin. Yes, you will say the name out loud to a fri...
- Intercourse, PennsylvaniaOct 5
Intercourse, Pennsylvania: Come for the Sign, Stay for the Shoofly Pie
Let's address the elephant in the buggy: yes, you are going to take a photo with the sign. Everyone does. The sign is also the reason the...
- Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaOct 5
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Capital City That Wants You to Look at the Dome and Not at the Budget
Welcome to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the state capital that sits politely on the Susquehanna River while the rest of the commonwealth arg...