Now a feature of the Chas H. Reynolds Rest Area, the once-thriving tool shop was a main feature of Ladd Creek Canyon, providing a rest area for weary travelers and supplies for craftsmen. The historical building and water-wheel still stand, and were originally constructed in 1911 … | Continue reading
On the Fraser Valley’s riverbanks, Fort Langley National Historic Site delves into the Hudson’s Bay Company’s fur-trading history. Rough-hewn timber buildings recreate a snapshot of 19th-century life in the region. At the heart of the complex, Tradish’s The Ancestor Cafe, the bra … | Continue reading
Many questions remain unanswered about this unusual pyramidal structure overlooking the town of Autun. When was it built? What was its function? This structure is most likely a funerary monument, built near the road that linked Autun to Lyon. It is believed to have been construct … | Continue reading
Nestled in Scotland's Perthshire region, the Pitlochry fish ladder is an engineering ingenuity and environmental conservation success. This structure, completed in 1951, was born out of a 1943 Act of Parliament that tasked the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board with protectin … | Continue reading
Four years ago, I traded in the Midwest for sunny Athens. My wedding there last summer inspired me to learn more about my own cultural traditions, many of which didn’t come on the cross-Atlantic trip with my family when they emigrated. One day, I stumbled across the picture of an … | Continue reading
Ōsu is one of the busiest shopping areas of Nagoya as well as one of the "big three" of Japan’s electric towns, considered a hub of otaku subculture alongside Akihabara and Nipponbashi. Consisting of several arcades, Ōsu’s heart lies in Kigakurin Banshōji, a Buddhist temple that’ … | Continue reading
Ice cream is a food open to wild experimentation. Unique ice cream flavors can make international headlines, and travelers often go out of their way to try regional specialties. For example, in New England and Nova Scotia, some parlors serve Grape-Nuts ice cream—not as a modern n … | Continue reading
People take a lot of strange things to nature, so why not miniature water mills? There are several dozen of them along a small mountain stream with an ideal slope, and they are constantly replaced by new ones. The mini-mills are made from materials such as iron, wood, plastic, ce … | Continue reading
In early 1514, an eager audience gathered in the small central Italian town of Tarquinia, once a powerful Etruscan city. They stormed into the town’s local inn. Those unable to find room inside clambered onto the roof or perched atop neighboring buildings. They were all desperate … | Continue reading
Underneath a battle shrine where Filipinos took a stand against Spanish colonial rule lies one of the largest underground reservoirs in the world. Made of volcanic tuff, the underground reservoir held water carried over the waterworks system from the Marikina River before being d … | Continue reading
The Port Denison Fishermen’s Memorial is a poignant tribute to the lives lost at sea, prominently situated at Leander Point in Port Denison, Western Australia. This memorial features an obelisk that was erected in the late 1800s following the tragic loss of the schooner Swan in 1 … | Continue reading
"I just felt like running." In the 1994 classic film, Forest Gump, the titular character decides to make a trek across America on foot. When famously arrives at the Santa Monica Pier, he figures "since he got this far, might as well turn around and just keep on going." The next c … | Continue reading
Named Èkó after the Yoruba language name for Lagos, this craft brewery draws on traditions from Africa's wealthiest and most populous nation. Nigeria has a large and thriving diaspora community within the United Kingdom, especially London. The English capital has therefore had se … | Continue reading
A trip to Casey’s Diner in Natick, Massachusetts feels like taking a step back in time. From the moment you approach the building and step inside, you can feel the history emanating from every corner. The vintage furniture, rustic styling, and old photographs on the walls and con … | Continue reading
In the sprawling expanse of the Canadian Badlands, this imposting 30-foot-statue of Christ the Redeemer stands watch. Over the decades, Drumheller's Jesus statue has weathered, to the point where it almost blends in with the surrounding rock. Curiously, the flock that this figure … | Continue reading
A scenic island near Kamakura, Enoshima is a popular destination known for its fresh seafood, romantic folklore, historic shrines, and fantastic caves. It’s small enough to explore in a couple of hours without missing its major attractions. Minor historical details, on the other … | Continue reading
At first glance, the Commemorative to Enslaved Peoples of Southern Maryland ("The Commemorative") appears out of place, a one-room cabin alone in a field outside a stadium. But if the sun is shining the cabin will reflect the light from its mirror-like clapboards, and if it is ni … | Continue reading
Just behind the McLennan Arch, this temperance fountain was erected to honor the contributions of Sir William Collins to the temperance movement. Sir Collins was a publisher by trade and served as Lord Provost of Glasgow from 1877–1880; famously, he was the first teetotaler to se … | Continue reading
When the Knights of St. John controlled the islands of Malta from 1530 to 1798, they oversaw many municipal construction projects. One type of structure built throughout the archipelago was facilities for people to wash their laundry, which was an arduous task in the pre-industri … | Continue reading
Standing to the side of Prešeren Square towers the statue of France Prešeren, Slovenia's national poet. Prešeren was born in 1800, into a peasant family, the third of eight children in a farming family in the village of Vrba. He did well in school, and eventually left Slovenian t … | Continue reading
In the middle of London's Bayswater neighborhood, you'll find a memorial to George Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg, a 15th-century Albanian noble who fought for independence against the Ottoman Empire. Born to an Albanian noble family, George Kastrioti was sent as a hostage … | Continue reading
Paul Qui and Tom Cunanan are two outstanding chefs in their own right. Both childhood immigrants to the United States from the Philippines, they each went on to win James Beard Awards for their individual restaurants in Texas and D.C. respectively. Since 2021, their collaborative … | Continue reading
This small museum is located inside the original building of the town doctor from Winterville, Georgia. Opened as a museum in 1972, it offers visitors a chance to see how far we've come with medicine and to honor those who had to handle everything in a day. There's a day in the l … | Continue reading
Fushimi Inari Shrine is the ancient center of Inari worship, now extremely famous, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Kyoto. It has thousands of branches across Japan, all dedicated to the deity of rice, Inari, accompanied by sacred fox statues and red torii arches. … | Continue reading
Some 10-15 minutes up the road from the Stalin and Lenin mosaic in Sachkhere is a marvelous gas station adorned with mosaic tiles. The back facade showcases cars from different decades, and the side profile has a flame motif. Both sides are in perfect condition. The fuel pumps ha … | Continue reading
In the middle of All Souls Cemetery rests one of the most iconic creators of food that we see every day on our grocery store shelves: Ettore "Hector" Boiardi, also known as Chef Boyardee. Boiardi started training in restaurants at the age of 11 in Italy, then migrated to France, … | Continue reading
The Kalasha Graveyard in Karakul offers a unique insight into the funerary practices and beliefs of the Kalasha people, an ethnic minority group residing in the remote valleys of Pakistan's Hindu Kush mountains. This ancient burial ground, nestled in the picturesque Karakul Valle … | Continue reading
Grotesque, fantastical, delirious conversions of ordinary cars into everything from yachts to rockets to double-decker hearses straight out of the darkest Gothic nightmare. Art Car World in Douglas, Arizona, opened to the public in 2023, but it's been decades in the making. Owner … | Continue reading
The Washington Monument is renowned worldwide for its imposing height and historic significance. Yet, tucked away within its marble and granite walls lies a lesser known but equally fascinating feature: the commemorative stones. Construction on the Monument began in 1848, but it … | Continue reading
Rocheport, a relaxed Central Missouri town nestled between St. Louis and Kansas City, is known for its art galleries, antique shops, cozy bed-and-breakfasts, and scenic cycling along the Katy Trail, all set against its rich history as an early 19th-century trading post. Adding to … | Continue reading
Human cadavers have played an important role in the study of medicine for centuries. While physicians and scientists have relied on these bodies for the advancement of medical knowledge, they haven't always been treated with respect. Programs to donate your body to science are a … | Continue reading
Just a few minutes from Greenville, South Carolina, is a unique attraction, a little slice of weird fun in the South. Mad Century Studios and the House of the Improbable is an unexpected and unique piece of Greenville strangeness. This residential backyard contains an oddities mu … | Continue reading
The Memorare-Manila 1945 Monument commemorates the lives lost during the battle for the liberation of Manila, waged by Filipino and American forces against Imperial Japanese troops from February 3, 1945, to March 3, 1945. Sculpted by Peter de Guzman, the monument’s main feature i … | Continue reading
Scattered along the River Liffey from the CHQ Building to the 3Arena, there is a stunning art installation over a kilometer long, made up of 900 glass cobbles in shades of watery blue and green with tiny silver and copper fish set inside. They're like windows to the underwater wo … | Continue reading
The Croswell Swinging Bridge is a bit of a rare breed. It's not the only swinging bridge in Michigan, but it's one of only three left in the state. These unusual bridges pretty scarce in the rest of North America, too. The Michigan Sugar Company supplied the materials for this br … | Continue reading
Nestled on the western outskirts of Matera, away from the bustling tourist trails, lies Piazza degli Olmi, an architectural marvel of the late 20th century. Constructed between 1981 and 1987, this residential complex epitomizes the brutalist style, characterized by its raw concre … | Continue reading
For centuries, this hill on the Polish coast has been used for defense and navigational purposes. Now with the additional height granted by a fire tower on top of the hill, Rowokol travelers can use it to look out across the Baltic Sea. This hill is the highest natural point for … | Continue reading
What do a single mother, a convicted criminal, and a world-famous comedian have in common? While that sounds like the setup to a corny joke, it's actually the start of the fascinating story behind a giant concrete foot lying in a park on the outskirts of Edinburgh. To appreciate … | Continue reading
One of the delicacies Japanese cuisine is known for is fugu, a potentially deadly fish that people have been eating not only for centuries but for millennia. Fugu bones are found from time to time at Neolithic settlement sites as old as 4,000 years, suggesting that the history of … | Continue reading
This story was originally published on The Conversation. It appears here under a Creative Commons license. Just over two decades ago, as the new millennium began, it seemed that tracks left by our ancient human ancestors dating back more than about 50,000 years were excessively r … | Continue reading
Although these days Hollywood is all but synonymous with the American film industry, its roots stretch back to Brooklyn. In 1896, the English newspaperman and cartoonist J. Stuart Blackton, a writer for The New York World, interviewed Thomas A. Edison, the inventor of the kinetos … | Continue reading
The cats came to chase away the rats and stayed. At least that's the story of how John F. Kennedy Park in Lima's upscale neighborhood of Miraflores came to be filled with dozens of cats. There are all kinds of cats in all colors and sizes. No one bothers them. The cats are friend … | Continue reading
Tucked away in the heart of Ciutadella, the Museu Diocesà de Menorca is a hidden gem that beautifully encapsulates the religious, cultural, and scientific history of Menorca. Housed in the former convent of Sant Agustí, the cloisters and architecture create an atmosphere of quiet … | Continue reading
Looking for a unique listening experience? Look no further than Montclair's very own pirate radio station, broadcasting 91.9 FM on Valley Road between Bellevue and Lorraine Avenues. For more than 15 years, listeners have been able to tune their radios to this frequency and hear t … | Continue reading
Picture this: the walls are covered in a ceiling-high collage of sea shells, driftwood, and animal skulls. Gene Wilder’s voice is singing “Pure Imagination” from the Willy Wonka soundtrack. There’s a clam on the table that may bite back when you attempt to eat it. And at times wh … | Continue reading
Do you own a scrap yard but would rather run a zoo full of animals? No problem, in the southeast of Czechia, a group of enthusiasts created a remarkable zoo full of animals made from scrap metal. The name "Kovozoo" is a neologism—the word kov in Czech means metal, and indeed all … | Continue reading
The statue of James Henry Greathead stands in the middle of the street near both the Bank of London and the Royal Exchange, one of the most prominent locations in the City of London. Greathead was a 19th-century civil engineer who perfected a method for constructing the deep unde … | Continue reading
Each week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (September 17, 2024). To our ears, a chirping cricket is a peaceful addition to an otherwise quiet night. But the cricket himself isn’t g … | Continue reading