I've always known that Washington wasn't normal. After all, this is the state where it can rain and then be sunny and then snow all within minutes of each other. We're home to such oddities as a giant coffee pot by the side of the road; a garbage-eating goat sculpture in Spokane; mysterious bumps in the landscape near Olympia called Mima Mounds; a replica of Stonehenge - Stonehenge! - in Maryhill. There's even a Menudo Festival in Granger! As if anyone would want to have a festival celebrating an '80s boy band ... oh, wait. Menudo is actually a Mexican-style soup. All right, but that's still pretty weird. All of these oddities, and more, have been cataloged into Washington Curiosities by author Harriet Baskas. She'll be on hand at the Washington State History Museum to tell more stories and sign copies of her book.

ROADSIDE ODDITIES AND OTHER OFFBEAT STUFF, noon, Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, free with museum admission, 253.272.3500