The Quest to Recreate a Lost and ‘Terrifying’ Medieval Mead

Bochet vanished for centuries, but meadmakers are bringing it back—at least in spirit. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Friendly Rivalry–Between Israel and Iran–Over the World’s Longest Salt Cave

Spectacular Malcham Cave, at more than six miles, currently holds the title. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Plants, Heavy Metals, and the Lingering Scars of World War I

A closer look at the hardy residents of some of our most damaged landscapes. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

You Can (Probably) Still Drink the Oldest Bottle of Wine

But it won't taste good. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Does This Medieval Fresco Show a Hallucinogenic Mushroom in the Garden of Eden?

Controversy over what's depicted in the image, and what it may say about early Christians, has raged for decades. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Seeing cave art in a new light

Prehistoric people may have created 'proto-cinema,' with galloping bison and tail-swishing horses. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

For Centuries, England’s Go-To Apple Utensil Was a Sheep Bone

No dentures? No problem! | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Mysterious Street Snack That Has Baffled Botanists for Decades

Even DNA tests have yet to confirm its identity. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Biophysicist Transforming Asparagus into Medical Implants

A horror movie proved an unlikely source of inspiration. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Lion of Gripsholm Castle – Strängnäs, Sweden – Atlas Obscura

This wonky bit of historical taxidermy is experiencing a second life online. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Tower Bridge’s Dead Man’s Hole

This unassuming alcove in London’s famous Tower Bridge once served to capture, store, and display dead bodies from the River Thames. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

MUMAC Coffee Machine Museum

Get buzzed beholding one of the world's largest coffee-machine collections, then step into the café for a specially brewed cup. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Berkeley’s Hidden Network of Hillside Paths

The California city has over 130 different woodsy shortcuts cutting through its hills and streets. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Town of Coca-Cola Millionaires

How Quincy, Florida became the richest town per capita due to one man's shrewd business acumen and taste for fizzy drinks. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Rethinking the Toilet, Converting Human Waste into Methane Power

The project transforms human waste into biogas, and allows participants to buy everything from bananas to socks. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

How Do You Keep a Subway from Flooding in the Age of Rising Seas? (2019)

You seal it up, but you have to test it first. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Why Elite Romans Decorated Their Floors with Garbage

This mosaic is trash. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

When Ancient Greece Banned Women from Olympics, They Started Their Own

Sadly, historians lack good documentation on the badass Heraean Games. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Copyrighting Cartography with Fictional Places

With all the time and energy cartographers spend preparing maps, it makes sense that they would want to protect their investment. One of the ways they do so... | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Can You Be Addicted to Travel?

An exploration of wanderlust, compulsive curiosity, and the world’s most traveled persons. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Sun Glint, Bane of Scientists, Has a Silver Lining

This beautiful, satiny optical phenomenon can wreck satellite imaging, but it can also reveal hidden aspects of our planet. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Objects of Intrigue: 16th Century Rocket Cats

Why are these animals in a 16th century manuscript wearing jet packs? That's the mystery Mitch Fraas, Scholar in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania... | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

How Scientific Detective Work Pinned Down the Oldest Known Shark Attack

But mysteries about the 3,000-year-old bones from Japan remain. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Lonely Ballad of the Dulles Airport Mobile Lounge (2016)

A high-tech room on wheels and the airport that might have been. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

How to Feed 10k Rebel Fighters for 50 Years

Researchers are studying the cooking traditions of the FARC, Colombia's disarmed guerrilla group. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Eat like Jane Austen, including dishes from her novels

Including dishes straight from her novels. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Saga of the Reindeer of South Georgia Island

Sometimes it’s not pretty when we have to undo our ecological mistakes. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

During the 1918 Flu Epidemic, Pet Parents Put Masks on Their Cats

Yancia the bulldog even made the local paper: "This Seattle Dog Wears Flu Mask." | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Sri Lanka’s Ancient, Almost Lost Martial Art

Photographer Reza Akram spent seven years documenting angampora, an indigenious fighting style banned by British colonizers.  | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

A Man Recreating Air Travel’s Most Glorious Meals

No one loves food in flight like Nik Sennhauser. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Long History of 'Bombay Time' and Resistance to Colonial Rule

For decades the city of Mumbai operated by two—or more—different clocks. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Where Are the Last of Maine’s Historic King Pines?

Deep in the wilderness, some say, forest giants claimed by the British Crown still tower above lesser trees. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Team Resurrecting Ancient Rome’s Favorite Condiment

Making umami inside 2,000-year-old ruins. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Tea Sommelier Seeking Out China’s Rarest Brews

Shunan Teng is on a mission to preserve and promote legendary teas. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Spiders Covered Australian Shores with a Gossamer Blanket

The ghostly sight tells a story of escape, survival, and a post-flood feast. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Can the Māori Connection to Antarctica Help Safeguard the Continent’s Future?

Indigenous ties to the bottom of the world go back more than a millennium, and could point the way forward. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Cows Destroyed an Entire Marine Ecosystem in California

A researcher's quest to understand a mysterious mass extinction leads to cud-chewing culprits. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Welcome to Nomehenge, Home to Alaska’s Soviet-Era Antennas

“It might sound strange, but it’s a nice place to be.” | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Singapore's 'Tree Doctors' Treat Their Giant Patients

Meet the arborists who care for the stately trees that mingle with skyscrapers. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Can banana buffers save California from wildfires?

A computer scientist makes a case for cocooning communities in banana groves. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

From 1896 until the 1930s, showmen would travel the country staging wrecks at state fairs. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

America's Best Preserved Ghost Towns

These once-booming settlements now exist in a sad, beautiful state of emptiness. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Italian Village Where the Houses Have Eyes

An architect has worked to save Aliano's unusual facial features, thought to ward off the "evil eye." | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

How to Make Taiwan's Iconic Train Bento

These convenient, compact meals have a devoted fanbase. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Prison Cell of Ludger Sylbaris

The cell which saved the life of Ludger Sylbaris, "the man who lived through Doomsday." | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

The Chef Cooking a Cicada Recipe for Every Palate

From ceviche to caramel popcorn, Joseph Yoon is showing how Brood X can be a delicious part of your diet. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

Sound Affects the Way You Taste Food on Airplanes (2017)

Food and drinks taste different in the air, so airlines are creating soundscapes to shape taste. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago

At Pizza Pacaya, the Oven Is an Active Volcano

Chef David García’s secret ingredient is lava. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 3 years ago