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The
Ruby Slippers, Madonna's Bra, and Einstein's Brain: The Locations
of America's Pop Culture Artifacts ,
by Chris Epting
I remember looking at the test tube that purportedly
contains Thomas Edison's last breath. It's on display in a case
in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. And if you're
wondering, as I was, how whoever collected it knew that it would
be the great inventor's terminal exhalation, the placard explains.
Edison's son collected several of his father's dying breaths,
and gave the final one to his best friend Henry Ford.
Okay, it's just a test tube. The air inside is
invisible, and no one will ever be completely sure it was
ever drawn into Thomas Edison's lungs. It doesn't matter.
The display itself is what arouses interest and connects us
to the intellect that so fundamentally shaped our modern world.
Chris Epting's newest book, The Ruby Slippers,
Madonna's Bra, and Einstein's Brain, is a treasure trove
of such marvels. Well known for his guides to the locations
of pop culture events (James
Dean Died Here, Marilyn
Monroe Dyed Here, and Elvis
Presley Passed Here), Epting has this time tracked
down the locations of hundreds of artifacts, mementos, and
structures associated with the people and events of America's
popular history. From the lantern Paul Revere used to warn
colonists that the British were coming to Elton John's platform
shoes, this book is both a guide for those who would actually
like to stand in the presence of significant souvenirs as
well as those who enjoy reading about all the weird and wonderful
stuff preserved inside museums and along roadsides across
the continent.
Not surprisingly, the Smithsonian "America's
Attic" Institution has contributed a number of pop culture
artifacts to Epting's lineup. The Smithsonian is where you'll
stand in the presence of such greatness as Fonzie's jacket
and the Howdy Doody marionette. But if you've been thinking
this is the place you'll find George Washington's teeth --
which by the way were not made of wood -- you definitely do
need this book. Washington's ivory choppers are on
display in Baltimore. And when it comes to Einstein's brain,
which really was preserved after his death and cut into a
number of pieces, Epting's book is about as close as you'll
come to setting eyes on a chunk. Some pieces are at a hospital
in Princeton, New Jersey, but they're "not available
for public viewing."
The Ruby Slippers, Madonna's Bra, and Einstein's
Brain is organized into eight categories, including American
Curiosities, Roadside Relics, Historic Artifacts, Criminal
Remains, Celebrity Antiquities, Movie and Television Keepsakes,
Music Mementos, and Sports Memorabilia. Whether you'd like
to pay homage to the Easy Rider motorcycle, visit the
water pump where Helen Keller learned to communicate, or check
out legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's signature
houndstooth hat, you'll find everything you need to know here,
complete with addresses and phone numbers. There's also an
index organized by state that makes it easy to find out what
to look for when you're on a trip.
In the last chapter, Epting leaves his
readers with a tantalizing challenge: Find the location of
ten pop culture artifacts that are "missing in action."
Epting found out where Lizzie Borden's axe is, but he's wondering
what happened to the knife that was used in the murders O.J.
Simpson was acquitted of committing. And what about Amelia
Earhart's plane, James Dean's car, or the debris associated
with aliens found near Roswell, New Mexico? Here's another
mysterious loss -- the Partridge Family bus is now nowhere
to be found after spending years in ignominious anonymity
in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant in East Los Angeles.
Are these relics really gone for good, or are they hiding
somewhere? Perhaps, if Epting's plea is successful, there
will soon be a sequel to this volume. In the meantime, The
Ruby Slippers, Madonna's Bra, and Einstein's Brain has
enough to keep the most avid road trippers happily seeking
out marvels, oddities, and icons for a long, long time.
Megan
Edwards
4/23/06
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