A town with a dog mayor. A city inside a meteor crater. A state park called Big Bone Lick. Kentucky has no shortage of stories that sound made up, until you discover they’re real.
Drive across Kentucky long enough, and you’ll start wondering whether someone has a strange sense of humor.
Exit signs point to places called Big Bone Lick. There’s also a town called Monkey’s Eyebrow. Another small town keeps electing dogs as mayor. Another sits inside a meteor crater. Somewhere in southeastern Kentucky, a skillet the size of a small room still cooks chicken every fall.
It all sounds made up. It isn’t.
1. Big Bone Lick isn’t even Kentucky’s strangest place name
If you saw signs for Big Bone Lick, Monkey’s Eyebrow, Pig, Possum Trot, or Sugartit on a road trip, you might think someone was playing a joke. They’re all real places in Kentucky.
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site has the best backstory. Thousands of years ago, mammoths, giant bison, and other Ice Age animals gathered around the area’s natural salt springs. Their fossilized bones were discovered there, giving the park its unforgettable name.
2. Dogs keep winning elections in Rabbit Hash
Most mayors campaign with speeches and yard signs. In Rabbit Hash, they campaign with wagging tails.
The tiny unincorporated Boone County river town has been electing dogs as honorary mayor since 1998, when the Rabbit Hash Historical Society created the position as a fundraiser to help preserve the community’s historic buildings. Votes cost $1 each, and every elected mayor has been a dog. Border collies, Labrador retrievers, and pit bull mixes have all held the title, becoming local celebrities along the way.
The current mayor is Boone, a bluetick coonhound, who was elected in 2024 and is expected to serve through 2028.
3. Middlesboro was built inside a meteor crater
From the ground, Middlesboro looks like a typical Appalachian town. From the air, it’s something else entirely.
The city sits inside a crater left by a meteor that struck the region millions of years ago. The National Park Service says Middlesboro is the only United States city built inside a known meteor impact crater.
4. There are three bourbon barrels for every Kentuckian
Kentucky has more than 16 million barrels of bourbon aging in warehouses across the state, the Kentucky Distillers Association says. That averages out to more than three barrels for every resident. Distillers are now officially in 49 of Kentucky’s 129 counties.
Most of the barrels won’t be ready to bottle until 2030 and beyond. And no one is taking home their share of barrels. But the numbers say plenty about bourbon’s place in Kentucky. It is an important part of the state’s economy and identity.
5. There’s a museum dedicated to dummies
No, not those dummies. Step inside the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell and you’ll find yourself surrounded by hundreds of silent faces staring back from shelves and display cases.
The appointment-only museum claims to be the world’s only institution devoted entirely to ventriloquism, with a collection of more than 1,000 figures, along with vintage props, photographs, and memorabilia. Together, they trace the rise of an art form that captivated vaudeville audiences, found new life on radio and television, and still inspires performers today.
6. You can get chicken fried in the world’s largest skillet
The birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken—now KFC—is about 15 minutes from the World Chicken Festival. Colonel Harland Sanders perfected his recipe of 11 herbs and spices at his Corbin restaurant just down the road, where there’s now a Sanders Cafe & Museum attached to the fast-food establishment.
Nearby London celebrates the fried chicken legacy each September by firing up the world’s largest stainless-steel skillet. The 10-foot-wide, one-ton pan cooks thousands of pieces of chicken during the festival, making it one of Kentucky’s most delightfully over-the-top traditions. The festival also has a Colonel Sanders look-alike contest. Contestants arrive wearing the Colonel’s iconic white suit, black string tie, glasses, and goatee. In 2025, the contest welcomed its first female contestant.
Kentucky’s quirks are part of its charm
These oddities barely scratch the surface. Kentucky is the kind of place where a road trip can always take an unexpected turn. A road sign might lead you to a place with an unforgettable name, a festival built around an oversized skillet, or a town where the mayor has four legs.
