Your Brain Cannot Beat the Mystery Spot, Even When You Know Exactly How It Works
The Mystery Spot in St. Ignace has bent Yooper brains since the 1950s. The three surveyors, the real science, and why knowing the trick doesn't save you.
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46 stories in this archive
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The Most Boring Road in Michigan Is 25 Miles of Dead Straight U.P. Highway
The Seney Stretch is 25 miles of M-28 without a single curve, officially Michigan's most boring road. Why it's so straight, and...
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The U.P.’s Own Comedy Band Runs a Roadside Trap With the World’s Biggest Chainsaw and Rifle
Da Yoopers are the U.P.'s own comedy band from Ishpeming, behind deer-camp anthems and a roadside Tourist Trap with the world's largest...
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There’s a Giant Wooden Dome in Marquette That’s the Biggest in the World
There's a giant wooden dome in Marquette that's the largest of its kind on earth, built from 781 fir beams to take...
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Henry Ford Built a Town From Scratch in the U.P. and Named It After a Little Girl
Henry Ford built an entire town from scratch in Michigan's U.P., named it after a little girl, and barely used it. The...
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Escanaba’s Swedish Pantry Will Come Pick You Up for Pancakes
With downtown Escanaba torn up for the summer, the 47-year-old Swedish Pantry isn't closing, it's driving customers from the parking lot straight...
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Why the U.P. Is the Most Finnish Place in America
You can hear it in the accent, taste it in the nisu, and sweat it out in a Saturday-night sauna. Five western...
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Could the Air Force Come Back to K.I. Sawyer? Marquette County Just Took the First Step
Thirty-one years after losing the base that built it, Marquette County just voted to talk to the military about a return to...
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How Keweenaw Copper Built the U.P.—and Wired a Growing America
Before the California Gold Rush became legend, another American mineral rush was already taking shape along Lake Superior. The Keweenaw Peninsula held...
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Every Yooper Knows the Spot: Why Friday Night in the U.P. Will Always Mean Fish Fry
You can get fried fish anywhere. You can't get this anywhere. Every Friday night in the U.P., the same beautiful thing happens....
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Sisu Is the Untranslatable Finnish Word for Grit That the U.P. Built Into Every Yooper
There's no English word for it. But every U.P. kid was raised on it anyway. There's a single Finnish word for the...
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If You Grew Up in the U.P., Deer Camp Was Never Really About the Deer
Schools close, towns empty, and Yoopers scattered all over the map find their way home. Up here, deer season isn't a hobby....
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Big Louie Moilanen Was Nearly 8 Feet Tall and Still Holds Michigan’s Tallest-Man Record
When Big Louie Moilanen walked into a room in the Copper Country, he had to duck. The man stood somewhere close to...
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