Dwyer & Michaels :: 2Dorks.com

7 Coolest “How It’s Made” Factory Tours

	Louisville Slugger Factory – Louisville, Kentucky Louisville Slugger baseball bats have pretty much been a staple in America’s past time since the beginning. The factory and museum has been cranking out bats since the late 1800s and now produces a bat in less than a minute! Visitors have the chance to check out the bat Babe Ruth used during his record setting 1927 season, as well as slug a few in the batting cages. Finish off the tour with a couple of $10 beers and $6 hot dogs.

	Harley Davidson Motor Company – Kansas City, Missouri Nothing quite says American badass like Harley Davidson. Even if your wife made you trade in your bike for a minivan you can catch a glimpse of chrome glory days at one the company’s three plants. The cost of admission is free and you’ll get a chance to see the finishing touches put on the bikes from a bird’s-eye view of the assembly line. A gift shop is also available so you can grab a key chain before you head back to your Prius in the parking lot.

	Crayola Crayon Factory – Easton, Pennsylvania If you were born in the last 40 years and had access to TV, there’s a good chance you grew up watching Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood and his visits to crayon factory. The current factory opened in 1996 and gives patrons the opportunity to watch hot paraffin wax be poured into molds and a variety of colored crayons emerge. One mold can churn out 42,000 crayons in an eight hour shift. As a freebie everyone gets a four-pack of crayons — which you can promptly chuck at the annoying kid on the bus ride home.

	Gibson Guitars – Memphis, Tennessee Jimmy Page, Slash, B.B. King – come take a tour of the place that is probably responsible for more guitar solos and bad power ballads than anywhere else. On a tour of the factory guitar fanatics will get an up-close and personal chance to watch Gibson’s skilled “luthiers” craft these beautiful instruments from start to finish. The tour only last about 45 minutes and getting a ticket can be tricky so reservations are recommended. Test your axe chops in the store after the tour. But the same rules apply as in Wayne’s World – ABSOLUTLEY NO “STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN.” Bummer!

	Jack Daniel’s Distillery – Lynchburg, Tennessee Any bar worth a damn has a bottle of this sour mash American Whiskey on the shelf and if they don’t, that’s no bar you want to be in. Oddly enough, Moore County, the home of JD has been a dry county since prohibition. Still thousands of visitors each year flock to the oldest operating distillery in the US to get an insider’s point of view on the culprit of many a hangover. The tour is free and lemonade is provided at the end… it’s a dry county, remember? Bring your own flask to Lynchburg it up!

	BMW Factory – Spartanburg, South Carolina The only BMW factory this side of the Atlantic, is a gear-head’s wet dream. Modern engineering and slick design come together to build one of the best cars on the planet on this tour of the South Carolina factory. Visitors will have the chance to learn about the automobile’s history, as well as see the how the cars are made and get the lowdown on the latest technologies being put under the hood. Considering the state of GM, this is your best bet for a glimpse at remarkable automobile engineering.

	Jelly Belly Candy Factory – Fairfield, California Okay, I feel a little stupid just saying “jelly belly”, and generally jellybeans are the lamest of Easter basket candies. And however gross, the popcorn and pretzel flavored jellybeans may be, Jelly Belly cranks out 148 other flavors of teeth rotting deliciousness. Tours of the factory give a behind the scenes look at the flavor creating process and why it takes a week just to make a single jelly bean! The tour’s bound to be crowded with kids jacked up on sugar highs, but it’s free and until Willy Wonka decides to dish out more golden tickets this is your best bet for candy overkill.

Other tours that listeners recommend: John Deere - East Moline, Illinois Polaris Factory - Spirit Lake, Iowa United States Mint - Philadelphia and Denver Hershey's Factory Tour - Hershey, Pennsylvania Check out Road Side America or Factory Tours USA for more!