The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is home to some strange things. Spending my summers there as a child, I marveled at the billboards that seemed to be especially designed for children – “Mom, Dad, can we stop?”
It seems to be a law of of tourism that whenever there is a beautiful natural area, like Yellowstone National Park, The Smoky Mountains or Niagara Falls, tacky tourist trap nonsense springs up all around it. This is the same for the whole of the Upper Peninsula, or, as it is more commonly known, the U.P. Signs for water parks, mini-golf and specialty museums line the highway, giving every child passing in a station wagon reason to pester their parents.
The most intriguing of these signs was (is?) The Mystery Spot. What could it be? A place where the laws of gravity don’t apply? Prepare to have your mind blown.
I finally got my parents to stop one summer. Forgive my murky memory. This was a long time ago. If you have ever made or will make the trip, please let me know. But I remember that even as a child it seemed fishy. Sure, the ball seemed to roll uphill, but then everything was at an angle – the floor, the walls, and the table upon which the ball rolled.
Was this a scam? Sure seemed like it. But then, like I said, there is no shortage of strange phenomena in the U.P. There are even glowing lights that float in the sky somewhere out in the woods – another legend, perhaps, but worth a future investigation.
Although I wasn’t convinced at the time, I’ve met many, many people since that claim the Mystery Spot is real. They say it is over a special underground geological formation that causes gravity to go sideways.
I hope there is someone out there who can clear this up for me.