Weird U.S. Volumes 1-3

Discover the bizarre stories of American history that have fallen through the cracks -- and maybe were meant to stay there. The History Channel has just released 3 DVDs containing 6 episodes of it's amusing and oddly engaging look at the weird and odd in the Americana from the series Weird U.S.

Weird U.S" is the creation of Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman, regular guys from New Jersey who have been unearthing weird stuff since they were kids. After cataloging everything weird in their home state of New Jersey the guys turned their sights on the other 49 states and developed a franchise that, in addition to this TV series, includes books, calendars and other outlets. The two Marks host the show with their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks as they explore the weird and bizarre across the country. The shows are loosely organized by weird subjects as they ask questions and dig for the truth behind weird rumors about subjects that range from notorious criminals like Bonnie and Clyde and Willy Sutton to Blackbeard and the Emperor of San Franciso. The DVDs contain set up options and scene selections but no additional extra features.

Volume 1: Episodes Strange But True and Road to Weirdsville"look at weird myths and strange episodes in American history including:

- Antoine Le Blanc, who killed a family and whose skin was later made into wallets
- Melungeon descendants of early explorers who arrived in North America long before the Europeans
- Nike Missle bases that provided the first line of defense during the Cold War
- Gib Town, Florida, where retired carnival performers have set up a freak friendly town.
- The San Jose, California mystery house of gun heiress Sarah Winchester built to confuse ghosts and spirits
- Philadelphia's Fort Mifflin, home to ghosts and strange occurrences after a bloody battle in 1777

Volume 2: Episodes Weird Worship and Weirdly Departed examine odd religions and strange explorations of life after death including:

- Unarians, a religious cult that believes we will soon be rescued by alien space brothers and who have prepared for their arrival
- A modern-day cult who believe the Earth is hollow
- Salvation Mountain, a homemade folk art creation in the Mojave Desert
- A religious sculpture grotto in Redemption, Iowa created by an ex-minister from millions of precious and semi-precious gemstones
- New Jerusalem, Florida a town created by a religious cult leader
- New Orlean's Count Von Kastle and his corpse bride Elaine
- Burial in New Orleans, an episode made even creepier by a foreboding tone that preceeded last year's Hurricane devastation.
- The town of Cassadagua, Florida that was founded in the 1800s by members of the Spiritualists movement and where the population holds regular scenances to communicate with the spirits of the departed.

Volume 3: Rebels and Traitors and Crimes and Punishments - politics and punishment American-style with a wide ranging list of obscure and familiar subjects including:

- Joseph Norton, the self-proclaimed Emperor of America, who became a beloved eccentric mascot in San Franciso
- Pirate Blackbeard whose bark was tougher than his bite and whose head was severed from his body and then lost into history
- Smedly Butler a one-time War hero who was involved in a plot to overthrow the government of Franklin Roosevelt
- The Republic of Conch, better knows as Key West, Florida, where the residents seceded from the U.S. in an effort to stop a road block
- Bonnie and Clyde the infamous Barrow gang who became folk heroes in the South during the Great Depression and whose lives and deaths are reenacted every year in a town festival where they died.
- Huntsville, Texas home to the oddest prison in the country where inmates where pink underwear, live outdoors in tents and volunteer for duty on America's only remaining chain gang.
- Eastern State Prison, the abandoned jail in central Philadelphia, that was created by the Quakers and became the role model for American penitentiaries.
- Famed bank robber Willy Sutton who never stopped trying to escape from jail and eventually was freed and became a TV spokesperson for MasterCard

Weird U.S" is a fascinating look under the floorboards and into the back rooms of American history and the two Marks provide a lot of insight and humor as they reveal what time has almost forgotten. Clearly there is no end to what they can explore that will enlighten and amuse any fan of Americana or things that are just plain weird.