Bat guano (dung) was an improbable boom commodity around the turn of the last century. It was an important ingredient in fertilizer before artificial nitrogen fixation had been invented. Every "bat cave" became the center of a burst of mining activity, and Nevada's Lovelock Cave … | Continue reading
Bítov Castle was built on the site of an eighth-century Moravian hillfort above the confluence of the rivers Dyje and Želetavka. The castle was built in the 11th century, but its current appearance largely dates back to the 19th century. Apart from the history and beautiful views … | Continue reading
This small park features a unique and monumental fountain wall, providing a great photo opportunity in the middle of Houston's popular Galleria area. The waterfall was designed and constructed by Harvey-Monarch Engineers and Builders and stands well over 60 feet tall. | Continue reading
Pécel is a suburb of Budapest, located around 20 kilometers east of the Hungarian capital. This small town doesn't really offer much and it is unknown to most tourists, but it hides a true masterpiece of Baroque painting inside to so-called Ráday Palace. Ráday Palace sits in the … | Continue reading
The crystalline, sparkling blue waters of Cuatrociénegas are beautiful and very alluring. The town invites visitors to explore these aquatic treasures, but they are also highly protected. They are home to a diverse ecosystem of plants and fauna, including endemic species found no … | Continue reading
For a few days every year from late March to Early April, hundreds of spotted salamanders travel through underground tunnels to avoid being crushed by road traffic in Amherst, Massachusetts. Henry Street is a two-lane roadway in North Amherst. It creates a dangerous divide betwee … | Continue reading
David Lloyd Kreeger was a highly successful businessman who served as President, Chairman, and CEO of Geico. He worked for the company from 1948 to 1974, and amassed a fortune estimated to be worth $50-$75 million. His largess facilitated his philanthropic pursuits as a dedicated … | Continue reading
You might be surprised to learn that the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum isn't just a collection of pro-Nixon propaganda. While the museum houses an impressive exhibit on Watergate and plenty of Nixon parodies, one of the most high-profile items that you might not e … | Continue reading
Monstrous and amazing concrete roadside sculptures emerge from the little wooded area just north of Beaver Meadows on Route 93 en route to Hazelton. A chaotic collection made by Joseph J. Woitko of great goblins, dragons, owls, and dinosaurs built from concrete, junk metal, and o … | Continue reading
A beautifully restored home including original artwork, original furnishings, and even a stuffed pet dog. Also includes a collection of replicas of lost artworks. | Continue reading
On George Washington University’s campus stands a statue honoring their unofficial mascot, the river horse. It all started in 1996, when Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, the college's then-president, got drunk and purchased a statue of a hippo at a flea market. His wife refused it as a … | Continue reading
ON THE CORNER OF CARLETON Avenue in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, there’s an emerald green building bearing a historic plaque. First designed as an inn in 1904, the location became the Carleton Avenue Grocery seven years later. There, the shop functioned for over a century, … | Continue reading
Don a hard hat and experience the temperature drop as you descend the 90 stairs into the underground Bevans Mine, a real lead and zinc mine dating back to 1845. When weather permits, visitors can even ride on a real mine train from 1931, all while learning about how the history o … | Continue reading
Old signs, gas globes, and cars from yesteryear are all crammed into this barn in Branchport, New York. All of the items here are original; there are no reproductions—even on the outside of the facade. Once a year the barn opens to the public as a fundraiser for the Humane Societ … | Continue reading
Occult enthusiasts and fans of assorted spooky stuff should check out Arizona's year-round Halloween shop. The store prides itself on stocking niche “creepy products not found in big box stores or Amazon.” Terror Trader houses the owner's personal horror collections on display as … | Continue reading
Eating out in Iceland can be pricey, so much that it's considered a bit of a treat instead of an everyday expense. But there is one affordable street food that locals in Reykjavik can enjoy on the regular: the hot dog from Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, a family business that has been ru … | Continue reading
A monumental ring of enigmatic stone sculptures with inlaid electronic musical sounds stand in a hidden coastal area of the island Lolland. The name stems from Dodekalith, which means “Twelve Stones” in Greek. Each of these massive, imposing sculptures is roughly seven to nine me … | Continue reading
With an ever-changing, globe-spanning menu and a wall-to-wall collection of culinary curios collected over a lifetime of travel, Nue may be the closest thing to the Gastro Obscura book in restaurant form. The name is a reference to a mythological Japanese monster with the body of … | Continue reading
In front of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila stands a stylized sculpture of three Catholic priests, two of them fallen. The last of the trio stands looking sorrowfully at the heavens, agonized as if about to collapse. This represents GOMBURZA, three of the key figures i … | Continue reading
Despite the lack of signage, in-the-know travelers can be seen turning off at this natural roadside attraction. New Zealand's geothermal activity powers this small bubbling pool stained deep ochre by heat-loving bacteria. | Continue reading
Sixty thousand years ago, give or take a few millennia, bands of Neanderthals thrived in a valley in central Spain, doing everything they needed to survive generation after generation. But about 45 miles north of what is now the city of Madrid, researchers have discovered a site … | Continue reading
Latin America is known for its large cemeteries with its grand architecture, and El Cementerio General (the General Cemetery) is among the greatest of these. Spanning 86 hectares, the cemetery is not only the largest in Chile but also one of the largest in South America. Over 2 m … | Continue reading
The historic La Candelaria barrio of Bogata is justly popular with both locals and travelers. Less well-known by visitors, though not Bogotanos, are the vibrant blocks of Carrera 2 between Calle 11 and Calle 12d. This section is home to street vendors selling locally fermented ch … | Continue reading
At any given moment, from the rainforests in South America to Tibetan plateaus to Arkansas, the many powder-like spores of the orange-tendriled Cordyceps mushroom may be ready for their zombie-like attack, drifting silently into the air like dust and onto nearby insects. Within d … | Continue reading
Mary Spencer, a local in Salem, Massachusetts, first began selling sweets via horse-drawn wagon in 1806. Her signature creations were Blackjacks, a kind of molasses-flavored taffy, and Salem Gibralters, also known simply as Gibralters. Made from a deceptively simple ingredient li … | Continue reading
Opposite Hannover Hauptbahnhof there is a manhole cover like no other. Situated in the Ernst-August-Platz, hidden beneath the seemingly normal metal plate lies two loudspeakers, an amplifier, and a CD player, piping music to the world above. The “DJ Gulleyman” as it is known, can … | Continue reading
Klyde Warren Park is a 5.2 acre-park that was built on Woodall Rogers Freeway. It connects uptown and downtown Dallas. Food trucks stop every day around lunch, and there is a sit-down restaurant in the park. It also has a putting green, table tennis, and foosball (but you have to … | Continue reading
Clonmacnoise is located in the center of Ireland with a monastery that was established in the sixth century. It would eventually become a university with students from all over Europe. The monastery ruins include a cathedral, three high crosses, two round towers with nine church … | Continue reading
The Shoshone Ice Caves are a temperature anomaly caused by airflow through a collapsed lava tube. The temperature remains between 25-35 degrees Fahrenheit all year round, creating an underground ice lake. Guided walking tours take you underground where you can walk across the fro … | Continue reading
In 1869, the first permanent Japanese settlement in North America was founded at this site in California. During the Boshin Civil War, a group of 22 people from samurai families left Japan and bought this parcel of land not far from San Francisco, where they established Wakamatsu … | Continue reading
Also known as the Herndon Historical Society Museum, this compendium of local memorabilia includes information on U.S. Navy Commander William Lewis Herndon (for whom the town was named), as well as artifacts from the World War II ship the USS Herndon, noteworthy items shared by l … | Continue reading
In 1927, an unlikely friendship arose between educator and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune and future First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, based on a shared belief in the power of education. When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in 1933, Bethune served as an advisor on m … | Continue reading
Six generations of Morans have welcomed guests to this 250-year-old oyster cottage. Michael Moran, a world champion oyster shucker, like his father before him, loves to recount stories of the cozy snugs, that were cozier bedrooms, and show where the annual high tide once graced t … | Continue reading
In November 2019, the headquarters of the American Geophysical Union became the first net-zero renovation in the District of Columbia. Net zero denotes an ultra-efficient building that consumes only as much energy as is produced through renewable resources. There are many notewor … | Continue reading
From vinyl records to board games, Geen Eggs and Jam has an eclectic assortment of oddities, all for sale. In 1994, Stacey Peek first opened the store in Asheville, North Carolina. He later relocated the shop to downtown Morganton. Peek has collected the unique items for sale at … | Continue reading
Historically, across Indian cities, ghats were built along riverbanks. Ghats are broad flights of steps that lead down to the riverbank for daily activities and rituals. In the center of Pune, along the banks of the Mutha river, one can see an old, almost fort-like stone structur … | Continue reading
After husband-and-wife duo Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere immigrated to Detroit, they launched a series of pop-ups serving dishes from their homeland, Burundi, in 2017. Their business quickly developed a strong local following, thanks to specialties such as nyumbani, tender br … | Continue reading
Although ingrained in the human psyche, taphophobia—the fear of being buried alive—was at a zenith in the 19th century. This fear undoubtedly influenced the appearance of premature burial in stories by contemporary writer Edgar Allen Poe. The horror of premature burial was magnif … | Continue reading
Mr. Dixie is the official guardian of Dixie Sheet Metal Works, which has been in business as metal workers and environmental specialists since 1945. The 12-foot-tall sculpture recently marked its 60th anniversary, having stood proudly in front of the shop since 1962. Originally a … | Continue reading
This church, originally built in the 12th century has seen extensive modification including several changes to the height of the tower. In 1590, the tower reached its maximum height of almost 159 meters (522 feet) and it is said in some quarters that it was at that time the highe … | Continue reading
Clover Hill Park in downtown Toronto, Ontario, is home to a remarkable equid statue. Placed near the entrance to St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, the figure depicts a baby donkey with her front legs completely encased in what first appear to be pink legwarmers. … | Continue reading
Aviation has been practiced in California since the early 20th century. However, this was not just airplanes but also a strong lighter-than-air division consisting of various types of blimps. The largest of these were the USS Arkon and Macon, a pair of nearly 800-foot-long flying … | Continue reading
One of the many hidden treasures on the urban campus of George Washington University is the multilevel, multifaceted Textile Museum. It includes three floors of textiles from different parts of the world, as well as a gift shop and an interactive textile lab. Exhibits include dif … | Continue reading
This ain't just one waterfall. It ain't even two waterfalls, but three waterfalls, all pouring off the same 48-foot-tall bluff. Now some say it's just two waterfalls, on account of there only being two water sources, but the wet season brings the triple fall effect. The falls a … | Continue reading
This 124-year-old, 50,000-square-foot Gothic-style building only showcases a small part of Cleveland's rich and diverse history. Built in 1898 and opened in 1900, the 42-room structure originally served as a clubhouse for the German Society where the Cleveland Gesangverein, a sin … | Continue reading
In a quiet suburb of Athens, the sound of a hammer breaks the silence as it meets heated sheets of bronze. Inside a small garage turned into a workshop, blacksmith and artist Dimitrios Katsikis has spent the past 12 years designing and forging. He transforms the malleable metal b … | Continue reading
There is a saying, "Glasgow made the Clyde and the Clyde made Glasgow." Scotland's largest city owes its prosperity and affluence to this body of water which is the third longest in the country and ninth longest in the United Kingdom. It runs an impressive length of 106 miles (17 … | Continue reading
The Dimnice Cave is spectacular enough on its own. A vertical cave mouth opens up from the earth with a railed path spiraling tens of meters down from the forest above. Once past the locked gate, your guide leads you into a largely unspoiled natural karst cave system. Here you'll … | Continue reading