How I Helped Solve A Michigan Mystery For A Famous TikToker

Hello there. Traditionally, I don't write these articles in the first person and prefer to stay objective and informational. However, something seriously cool happened over the weekend: I helped solve a mystery. Well, unintentionally, anyway.

Nearly a year ago, I wrote an article talking about old Family Video locations that, after the company officially shut down in 2021 after years of decline, have been turned into new stores. Family Video buildings have always been very iconic due to some very specific design choices:

• The glowing pillar out front
• The green roof
• The 50/50 split of brick and windows wrapping the building
• The entryway (outcropped from the building)

While Family Video as a company shut its doors, those doors, physically, worked just fine, and as time has gone on, new businesses have moved into the old brick and mortar stores. I made a big list of every location and what they were as of 2024, which you can view below.

How This Solved A Mystery

A TikToker by the name of josemonkey, who has nearly 2 million followers, is most well known for his series that is about "finding people who ask to be found." The premise of this series is that a person will post a video of their location and challenge Josemonkey to figure out where in the world they are. I encourage you to watch the TikTok below to understand how his videos work and how my article came into play.

To further prove how iconic these Family Video locations are, Josemonkey saw that the Dollar General in the video above is housed in a former location, and because of my article, he was able to pinpoint the location (Niles, MI) of where this Dollar General- and where the woman in the clip- was located.

It's always nice to see something you've written be recognized by others, but knowing josemonkey solved a mystery using my article and featuring it in his TikTok was very kind of him and cool to see.