New Haven, Connecticut, USA

There are 5 senses (see the banners?), and then there is "The 6th Sense." Do you feel the presence of ghostly souls when they enter your world or hitch a ride in the back of your truck? It is easier than ever this time of year. Happy Halloween! [2009]

Placerville, California, USA

On this spot stood the tree from which three murderous bandits were hanged at the height of the Gold Rush. The building that took its place eventually became an appropriately-named bar: Hangman's Tree. Alas, the bar closed a decade ago, but the memory lives on in Placerville's nickname: Old Hangtown. [2006]

South Mountain, Pennsylvania, USA

Here is the ancestor of the modern chemical toilet (a.k.a., porta potty). It is a classic outhouse that has been relieved of its duty out back and assigned to a new position out front where everyone can see it and wax nostalgic. As for the iconic crescent moon: Users needed light and appreciated at least some ventilation. But why a crescent? [2019]

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Here is why they call them porta potties. They are portable. Behold: the porter! The truck itself looks as if it was made specifically for its intended load. [2016]

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Find a major tourist destination (ditto: construction site, country fair, music festival) and there you will find a major collection of portable toilets. Blue porta potties are to New Orleans what red telephone boxes are to London: Agree or disagree. [2018]

Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA

England or America? Answer: It's a little bit of England in America. London Bridge in Lake Havasu City used to cross the river Thames. In 1967, it was purchased and moved to the Arizona desert. Nearby was developed an English Village, which, of course, meant that a red telephone box had to be appropriated, too. [2019]

Ludlow, South Dakota, USA

To bovid mammals, a cattle guard (see it?) is like a stop sign that is always obeyed. Biped mammals could cross a metal grate like this without a second thought, but cloven hoofs require a sure footing. So, en masse, they stop before they become a traffic nightmare. [2019]

Colony, Wyoming, USA

Colony may be small but it still has a community hall. So, who constitutes the community? Mostly ranchers, whose main business it is to coddle cattle. And, to keep cattle from ranging out onto the highways, cattle guards assist in the coddling. To bovid mammals, a cattle guard (see it?) is like a stop sign that is always obeyed. [2019]

Valle Crucis, North Carolina, USA

An expanse of flat land is always a rarity in the mountains. But, when you do find some, why not turn it over to some fall festivities? An annual country fair might draw in the masses, especially if you include a magic show on center stage. The kids will love it! [2016]

Boxley, Indiana, USA

Pumpkins and gourds bring color to roadside markets every fall. But all industries look for innovations. Hence, white pumpkins. They are a contribution of the 1980s, and are now found in every corner of the country. Given the season, you might guess their varietal names: ghost pumpkins, casper pumpkins, and full moon pumpkins. [2018]

Ragland, New Mexico, USA

Autumn comes to even the loneliest of trees in the drylands of the Southwest. The mystery is not: "Why did the tree come ablaze with color this October?" The mystery is: "Why is there a tree here in the first place?" Not even an intermittent stream seems to be nearby. Perhaps a house used to occupy this site, and its occupant longed for some shade. [2018]

Caledonia State Park, Pennsylvania, USA

Green, orange, yellow, brown, red: the colors of fall. The only other thing you could wish for would be autumnal high pressure with its blue skies and radiant sunshine. Yesterday, South Mountain had it all. [2019]

Morristown, New Jersey, USA

The Ford House served as General Washington's headquarters during the winter of 1879-80. With 24 snowstorms, it was the worst winter in anyone's memory. It seems fitting that George stayed in a Georgian-style mansion, a huge farm house that came to hold upwards of a hundred people. The remaining 10,000 troops were encamped 5 miles away. [2019]

Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA

What happened here in 1969 is a bit of a mystery, but it involves a covered bridge, a UFO, an abduction, and multiple witnesses to something. If only the Upper Sheffield Covered Bridge (rebuilt in 1999) could talk! Actually, if it could talk it would tell you more than this rather useless black-and-chrome marker has to say about the incident. [2019]

Esopus, New York, USA

The Hudson River was navigable all the way to Albany, so lighthouses were needed to mark shallows. Only the Esopus Lighthouse survives. Built in 1871, it is now the centerpiece of a protected shoreline environmental reserve called Esopus Meadows. [2019]

New York, New York, USA

Empire, Jazz, Wyken Pippen, Kerry Pippen, Kiku, Cameo, Winesap, Braeburn, Baldwin, Paula Red, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, Crispen, Cripps Pink, Pink Lady, Pink Pearl, Gala, Jonathan, Jonagold, Ginger Gold, Grimes Golden, Cortland, Gragg, Macoun, Ballyfatten, York Imperial . . . Bronze. [2012]

Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

Think of it as a neighborhood market, not as Walmart. The suits (see them?) wished the store well at its grand opening. Today, is its fifth birthday. Do the sparks inspire you to shop there? Do you even recognize them as sparks? That's the Walmart logo's official moniker. [2014]

Scandia, Kansas, USA

The iconic power of the American windmill is nowhere more apparent than when it is replicated in places where you least expect it. As if there weren't enough wind engines to frame our perspectives on the American west, here is one that serves the needs of a mailbox that doubles as a wind vane. [2009]

Baker, Montana, USA

American windmills (a.k.a., wind engines) made life in water-scarce environments possible by providing energy to lift ground water to the surface. Now, as economies of scale move more small holdings into the hands of corporate giants, many of the ranches and farmsteads that depended on them are abandoned. [2019]

Liberty Hill, Texas, USA

The American windmill was invented in 1854 and reached its peak in 1930. Today, those that remain (some still doing their job and others functioning as visual reminders of the past) are among the most redolent place makers of the American West. Any questions? Ask a molinologist! [2015]

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Let's set aside a day for every occasion, including National Coming Out Day. It was first proclaimed on this date more than three decades ago by the Human Rights Campaign. Not even two decades ago, could we have imagined a Gay American like Pete Buttigieg running for President and becoming one of the top contenders. We have made progress. [2011]

Marrakech, Morocco

The lab-coat jacket is protection from soilage. The shelter overhead is protection from the sun. The lemons in front are protection from scurvy. The flag behind is protection from the monarchy. [2017]

City Centre, Gibraltar

In the tradition of Roman Catholicism, saints are remembered on the day they died (rather than they day they were born). Here is a secular saint (among some!) who died on this date more than half a century ago. His name: Che Guevara. What is he doing on this sign? [2015]

Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

All Hindu temples on the island of Bali make space for offerings known as canang sari: baskets made of palm leaves and filled with flowers and other botanicals. [2016]

Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

Temple guardians take different forms in different cultures. This one presides over the entrance to a Balinese Hindu temple in Denpasar. Big ears, big eyes, big nose: He hears, sees, and smells everything. It's a gentle reminder: God is omniscient. Then, there are those not-so-gentle looking thumbs. [2016]

Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country, but this is obviously not a mosque. It's a Hindu temple on the island of Bali, one of the few parts of the world outside the Indian subcontinent, where the majority of the population is Hindu, albeit Balinese Hindu. To survive in majority-Muslim Indonesia, they declared themselves to be monotheistic. [2016]

Singapore, Republic of Singapore

If your chosen form of mobility is bicycling, don't let a flight of steps get in your way! It looks like the escalier here may have been deliberately designed to accommodate two-wheeled conveyances. [2016]

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico

If you want to have some fun learning about human evolution, look up the Aquatic Ape Theory. It may be that many of our distinctive features as humans came about because we adapted to shoreline environments rather than remaining in the trees like other apes. Could that also explain why we are still so drawn to the seashore? [2016]

Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Finding maps on the landscape can become a hobby. Whenever you see one, take a picture. This map seems to have withstood the test of time well. It still looks relatively contemporary. The dude, however, seems to be caught in a time-warp. [1984]

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Finding maps on the landscape can become an elixer. When you find one, it not only makes you happier, it also re-frames the world: "Australia: No Longer Down Under." This map, in various forms, became a part of Australian pop culture in the late 20th century. [1988]

London, England, UK

Finding maps on the landscape can become an obsession. You might even find one on an umbrella. Do you recognize the aspirant people who would like this part of an island in the Indian Ocean (Sri Lanka) to become their sovereign state? These are the Tamils, a nation without a state, and on their umbrella is a map of Tamil Eelam. [2009]