History

Phones used to be attached to walls with cords. Movies used to need to be rewound and returned to a rental store. The common hangout place used to be malls, but that era has now passed, too. There's a video showing one final walk through a Missouri mall that was demolished 14 years ago.

There is a soft spot in my heart for Diamond Dave restaurants. There used to be one in Quincy, Illinois and another in Keokuk, Iowa. I honestly thought they were completely gone, but low and behold I found one still hanging in there in Iowa. I also found a retro t-shirt, too.

Many people consider "The Exorcist" the scariest movie of all time. While the creator admits that he changed some of the details, but the movie was truly based on real events that happened in St. Louis, Missouri in 1949 that are much more terrifying than the movie it inspired.

I love a good controversy and this is one of history's best. Where exactly is the world famous Daniel Boone buried? Missouri and Kentucky are in complete disagreement about whether their state contains his grave.

It's the diner everyone who watched TV in the 1970's knew even if they didn't know exactly where it was. Yes, the diner where Rosie showed everyone why Bounty was "the quicker picker upper" that originally was born in New Jersey is now incoming to the middle of Missouri.

The internet thinks it knows the best county to live in for the state of Missouri. What the internet likely doesn't realize is their recommendation also used to be the home of notorious outlaws Bonnie & Clyde.

Sometimes you learn things that genuinely surprise you and that was the case with this historical event. Did you know that the worst natural disaster in Illinois history was not the result of a violent tornado? It was also something that recently passed its sad 28th anniversary.

Missouri has many places with well-known reputation for being playgrounds for the paranormal. However, the scariest place in the Show Me State is likely not a location you've been to or heard of. It has just been declared the scariest place in Missouri and that's likely not wrong.

I have learned over the years that the old saying that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. That's why it would be good for many to look back on what life was like in a small Illinois town near the end of World War II.

If you could, would you like to travel back to St. Louis as it was 200 years ago? That is kind of possible as there's a mansion from that era which is now available and it's full of history and character.