According to the Bessemer Hall of History Museum in Alabama, this typewriter came from Adolf Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" near Salzburg, Austria. It was brought to the United States by a soldier assigned to the mountain retreat after the war.
Christopher Eiland, Bessemer Hall of History
Danish windmill (Elk Horn, Iowa) —
Shortly after this authentic structure was disassembled and shipped to Iowa in 1976, a law was passed in Denmark to prevent the exportation of its windmills.
Courtesy The Danish Windmill in Elk Horn
Vladimir Lenin statue (Seattle) —
The deeply politically conservative city of Seattle is ... oh wait, how'd that statue of Vladimir Lenin get there? Actually, an American carpenter saved it from a scrapyard in then-Czechoslovakia and had it brought over to the United States.
Courtesy Jessica Vets, Fremont Chamber of Commerce
Queen Mary (Long Beach, California) —
What was once the fastest passenger ship in the Atlantic is now a unique attraction on the Pacific.
Courtesy The Queen Mary
German submarine (Chicago) —
The capture of the German submarine U-505 was led by Chicago native Capt. Daniel Gallery in 1944. It now sits at the Museum of Science and Industry in his hometown.
Scott Brownell, Museum of Science and Industry
London Bridge (Lake Havasu City, Arizona) —
Developer Robert McCulloch was trying to interest people in property he owned in Arizona. When this London landmark (built in the 1820s and '30s) was put up for sale in 1967, he found his attraction.
Lake Havasu City CVB
Santa Anna's wooden leg (Springfield, Illinois) —
During the 1847 Battle of Cerro Gordo, Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna stopped for lunch when advancing American troops surprised him. He got away but left his artificial leg behind.
Courtesy Illinois State Military Museum, Department of Military Affairs
Man-eating lions (Chicago) —
If the infamous Tsavo lions at Chicago's Field Museum seem a little worse for wear, it might be because they spent 25 years as rugs after being hunted down in 1898.