America's Little-Known Micro-Nation Is A Delightfully Eccentric Destination In A Western State

The mouse that roared in the 1959 Peter Sellers comedy of the same name perhaps made the greatest impact on Kevin Baugh, now "his excellency president grand admiral colonel doctor" of the "micronation" of Molossia. The film follows the travails of a tiny European duchy that declares war on the United States with the goal of losing and receiving generous American reconstruction funds afterward. With a hat-tip to the movie and equal tongue in cheek, Baugh founded the "Republic of Molossia" in 1977 on 11.3 acres of Nevada desert near Dayton and set himself up as dictator. Nearly 50 years later, Molossia not only thrives but attracts a fair share of tourists. In fact, the number of tourists far exceeds the current population, which consists of about 35 family members, pets included.

Most visitors come for the impressive commitment to the dad joke, which manifests throughout the "country," starting with stamps for their passports. Official designations of Molossia also include a national flag — horizontal bars of blue, white, and green in tribute to the sky, mountains, and land. The national anthem, "Fair Molossia is Our Home," is based on the former one used in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) until the country changed its name and anthem in 1997, with new lyrics paying tribute to "An oasis amid the desert sand / Standing tall in this uncommon land." Molossia also uses its own currency, the Valora, pegged to the value of Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, while "customs" aim to exclude catfish, fresh spinach, missionaries, salesmen, onions, and walruses.

The borders of Molossia only open once a month between April 15 and October 15, and all visits must be arranged ahead of time and are escorted. Each lasts an hour-plus and covers the major "sights." Among these are the Peace Pole, post office, general store, bank, Red Square, salt mine, water tower, jail, space station, and Pineapple Fountain, where guests are encouraged to toss a coin over their shoulders. There's also a tiki hut on the premises serving burgers and Molossia's signature drink, the "Molossini," a blend of Sprite, pineapple juice, grenadine, and fresh fruit. The trading post is where you get your Molossia souvenir hats, shirts, stickers, pins, and more, although American currency is necessary here.

For all its humor, Molossia does shine a spotlight on other micronations in the world. These include formally recognized ones like the world's oldest country, spanning just 24 square miles; this underrated Mediterranean slice of coastal paradise that is Europe's second-smallest country; and the winter wonderland sandwiched between France and Spain. There are many more with a similar cheek as Molossia, too, for example, the Kingdom of Torgu, birthed when Estonia's post-Soviet constitution simply forgot to include a single island parish. Then there's the Empire of Atlantium, "the world's foremost aspirant extraterritorial, transnational, intercultural, panarchist state," in New South Wales, Australia. Principality of Sealand — a World War II defense work 7 miles off the coast of England — remains the tiniest micronation of them all and perhaps the most controversial.