# I was looking at a map of Kansas ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 9, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004 "2003-08-09T07:57:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/1 "2003-08-09T07:57:42Z")
… and west of Wichita, along Route 54, there is a tourist-attraction marker noting “World’s Largest Hand-Dug Well.” So … not much going on in Kansas, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/2 "2003-08-09T08:07:09Z")
Be glad you only looked on a map and did not drive there. You do see some interesting (i.e., off-the-wall) attempts at tourist attractions. However, they are only of interest in comparison to driving along I-70, the most boring stretch of highway anywhere and you’d also swear it’s the longest. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/3 "2003-08-09T09:41:14Z")
I-70 boring?!? But…but…what about the Shryock’s [corn maze?](http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2002_4th/Nov02_Agritourism.html) What could possibly be more fun than spending all day wandering around a corn field in Missouri in the middle of August? \*And that was last year’s corn field. This year’s is supposedly even bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/4 "2003-08-09T09:51:36Z")
Did you ever read about the harrying climb to the top of [Mt. Sunflower](http://www.dimensional.com/~jbettin/air/ks000.htm)? Oh boy, I’m going to have nightmares tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/5 "2003-08-09T11:12:53Z")
No, there isn’t much “going on” here - but there is a very low crime rate, economy that has weathered the recession well, nice variable climate, friendly people, clean towns, and (outside of KCMO) decently clean air. It’s a great place to live, even if people don’t want to visit here. If I want to do something “touristy” I just go back to England for a bit, or to Arizona, Utah, or any one of a number of places. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Olive\_The\_Other\_Reindeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Olive\_The\_Other\_Reindeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olive_The_Other_Reindeer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/6 "2003-08-09T11:23:43Z")
Imagine coming from a town where one of the attractions is the [The Garbage Museum](http://www.acorn-online.com/100gar.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/7 "2003-08-09T12:34:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Olive, The Other Reindeer \* > \*\*Imagine coming from a town where one of the attractions is the [The Garbage Museum](http://www.acorn-online.com/100gar.htm) \*\* They’d likely get more visitors if instead of “Trash-o-saurus”, they offered people “Truck-a-saurus”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/8 "2003-08-09T12:51:54Z")
Lana Lang lives in Kansas. That alone makes it worth the price of admission. ---
**Author:** ![AmishBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@AmishBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmishBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/9 "2003-08-09T17:32:09Z")
Ah yes…the well in Greensburg, Kansas. I have actually been down in that well, having grown up not too terribly far from there. I love Kansas, and granted, while there’s not a whole lot to see on I70 (world’s largest prairie dog, anyone?), other places like the Flint Hills are to me, absolutely wonderful. Also, the sunsets can be pretty spectacular, and just that feeling of being out in the wide open spaces is something you don’t find everywhere. I’ll also second what **Anthracite** said about the low crime rate, clean towns, friendly people, etc. Sigh. Wish I were there… ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/10 "2003-08-09T17:48:21Z")
S/W part has fun sand dunes… Pilots are usually very relaxed while flying over Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/11 "2003-08-09T18:09:49Z")
My grandparents lived on a farm in SW Kansas. My grandmother liked to tell the story of how her family came there in a covered wagon and of the trials and tribulations they endured on that endless arduous trip. It finally occurred to me to ask her where they’d come from. Her answer: “Topeka”. ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/12 "2003-08-09T18:10:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GusNSpot \* > \*\*S/W part has fun sand dunes… > > Pilots are usually very relaxed while flying over Kansas. \*\* Little did most of them know it was always going to be the first to fall to the communists. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/13 "2003-08-09T19:47:29Z")
Don’t forget that Cawker City has the world’s largest ball of twine. And Lebanon KS is the geographic center of the continental US. There’s also the Garden of Eden, the world’s largest (concrete) prairie dog, the world’s largest steam shovel… gosh the tourism possibilities are endless. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/14 "2003-08-09T22:14:31Z")
I’ve been to that well. I lived in Overland Park for a few years, and on a road trip out West when I was 16 we decided to stop and check it out. I don’t recall being allowed to go down inside it, as **AmishBlue** reports, but I do recall thinking, “Wow! That’s a _really big well_!” ---
**Author:** ![leafrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@leafrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leafrog)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/15 "2003-08-09T22:38:54Z")
I’ve been down to the bottom of that well, too. My parents come from SE Kansas (Little House on the Prairie country!) and on a trip back one summer we stopped. I must have been around 14 or 15 and vividly remember thinking “Oh god, get me out of here.” I have since gained a greater appreciation for kitsch. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/16 "2003-08-09T23:04:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AmishBlue \* > \*\*other places like the Flint Hills are to me, absolutely wonderful. \*\* My mother hails from the Flint Hills area and, until a trip there as an adult a few years ago (as opposed to being dragged there kicking and screaming every summer on family vacations as a child), I’d never appreciated what a pretty area it is. I could see living there. As an added bonus, Westmoreland has the _second-largest_ [hand dug well.](http://www.lasr.net/pages/city.php?City_ID=KS0112031&VA=Y&Attraction_ID=KS0112031a001) My dad, on the other hand, is from nowheresville north central barely this side of western Kansas. It has its charms if you like flat and wheat but I couldn’t imagine living there. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/17 "2003-08-10T04:25:36Z")
All around my neighborhood, just a couple of kilometers west of the Missouri state line in Johnson County, Kansas, there are brown signs posted along many streets. The signs read: **SANTA FE TRAIL CROSSED HERE** **CALIFORNIA TRAIL CROSSED HERE** or **MILITARY TRAIL CROSSED HERE** Ironically, the area is much hillier than the neighborhood where I lived in Denver, Colorado. Oh … last week, the world’s largest furniture store opened in the otherwise scruffy town of Kansas City, Kansas. _Nebraska_ Furniture Mart. 750,000 square feet. ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/18 "2003-08-10T06:57:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\*No, there isn’t much “going on” here - but there is a very low crime rate, economy that has weathered the recession well, nice variable climate, friendly people, clean towns, and (outside of KCMO) decently clean air. > > It’s a great place to live, even if people don’t want to visit here. If I want to do something “touristy” I just go back to England for a bit, or to Arizona, Utah, or any one of a number of places. Problem solved. \*\* It does sound like a nice place (I hope I didn’t sound like I was putting it down.) It seems like some of the best places to live are in many ways also the least interesting. New York City sounds very exciting, but then there’s crime and crowding. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AmishBlue \* > \*\*Ah yes…the well in Greensburg, Kansas. I have actually been down in that well, having grown up not too terribly far from there. \*\* So, how does one get to the bottom of the world’s largest hand-dug well, and what do you do when you’re down there? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/19 "2003-08-10T09:27:58Z")
This is the stuff **Sam and Max** love making fun of, right? I thought they were absurd exaggerations. But no, apparently not. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004/20 "2003-08-10T10:46:30Z")
There was an Osage indian who was getting ready for his naming ceremony. His mother made him a wonderful dear skin outfit complete with soft comfortable moccasins. He set out on his quest to find his name. He walked and he walked. Not much changed, so he found no inspiration for his name, so he walked some more. Finally, something changed. He found, not his own name but the name that has carried through to the present. Standing on a low rise, in what is now Kansas, he looked down at the once beautiful moccasins his mother had given him so long ago, and said “Hmmmm, Topeka” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-looking-at-a-map-of-kansas/194004.md?page=2)