In their new book Poplorica: A Popular History of the Fads, Mavericks, Inventions, and Lore That Shaped Modern America (HarperResource), Martin Smith and co-author Patrick Kiger have brought together twenty unlikely events, innovations and individuals that have shaped the way Americans live. Making the offbeat their beat, the authors have explored some of the most significant moments that never made it into tour textbooks, revealing the odd, surprising and amusing origins of inexplicable cultural phenomena.