Visit the Halls of Scotland's Lord of the Isles (Virtually))

A digital reconstruction revives a medieval seat of power. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Can Nigerian drumming teach you to pick the perfect watermelon?

Acoustics is here to help you find ripe produce. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Lava Lamps That Help Encrypt the Internet

At Cloudflare in San Francisco, California, a wall of lava lamps encrypts up to 10 percent of the world wide web. Cameras record the groovy, random... | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

California’s Wild Flower Hotline Provides the Latest Scoop on Superblooms

It’s been updated every Friday in spring for nearly 40 years. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Livestock Living at the End of the World

The marooned livestock was meant to feed shipwreck survivors. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Green River Soda–Invented in 1916, immortalized by Creedence Clearwater Revival

After thriving during Prohibition, this soda fountain staple was immortalized in song by Creedence Clearwater Revival. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Barbed Wire Telephone Lines Brought Isolated Homesteaders Together

And then let them snoop on each other. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Medieval Africans Had a Unique Process for Purifying Gold with Glass

And scientists in Illinois have recreated it. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

An Ancient Snapshot of Native Taiwanese Culture

A newly available Library of Congress collection shows the lives of an oft-overlooked minority. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Great Hanoi Rat Massacre of 1902 Did Not Go as Planned (2017)

Instead of disappearing, the pesky rodents proliferated. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Tareq Rajab Museum of Islamic Calligraphy

A private collection of over 30,000 ancient and modern items showcasing the beauty of Islamic calligraphy. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Tunnel of Books: Yangzhou Shi, China

Mirrored floors and arched shelves create the illusion of an infinite tunnel of books. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

During WWII, ‘Rumor Clinics’ were set up to dispel morale-damaging gossip (2017)

A network of "morale wardens" tracked down the latest scuttlebutt. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Mind-Boggling Artistry of China’s Ivory Puzzle Balls

This traditional art from Guangzhou can never be produced legally again. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

How to Calm a Crying Baby Like a Mesopotamian

Sing a simple song and sprinkle some sacred dust. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Short-Lived Airline That Shuttled Sightseers to America's National Parks

National Parks Airways only lasted for 10 years. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

A Reprise for a 19th-Century Language Based on Music (Solresol)

A French music teacher spent more than three decades creating Solresol. After he died in 1862, it was largely forgotten. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Remarkable Story of a Woman Who Preserved over 30 Years of TV History

Thousands of hours of Marion Stokes's personal recordings will now be digitized, one tape at a time. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Notre Dame’s Bees Seem to Have Survived the Blaze

A little bit of sweet news. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Breweries Helped Keep This Pre-Columbian Empire Together

Researchers recreated Wari chicha for science and happy hour. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

People Keeping Mold-a-Rama Alive

These retro machines, which make plastic souvenirs right before your eyes, are as popular as ever. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

For decades, "pathological tourists" ended up in asylums or worse. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Mother-Son Duo Translating Astrophysics into Blackfoot

Corey Gray and Sharon Yellowfly want to bring gravitational wave astronomy to speakers of the language. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Found: Britain's First Pet Bunny

The rabbit was pampered and definitely not butchered. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Mysterious American Hum Returns to Haunt Canada

The exact source of the droning sound has never been discovered. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Apex Electronics – Los Angeles, California – Atlas Obscura

This stockpile of junked electronic and mechanical gadgets is a favorite among Hollywood prop masters. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Glass Gem Corn

The gorgeous multicolored cob hails from Oklahoma. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

When We All Move to Space, We’ll Have to Be Picky About Houseplants

These ones might be best suited to a life among the stars. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Chicago Has Become the Nerve Center of Competitive Pinball

Experience the thrill of multiball mayhem and the agony of a double drain. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Volkswagen's “part no. 199 398 500 A” is a pack of sausages

In 2017, the auto maker sold more currywurst than cars. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Promise and Perils of Resurrecting Native Americans’ Lost Crops

Who owns ancient seeds? | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Grounded McDonnell Douglas DC-10 Is Now a Restaurant in Ghana

"Flight attendants" serve Ghanian specialties aboard La Tante DC 10. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Beloved Japanese Novelist Who Became a Queer Manga Icon

Nobuko Yoshiya’s stories of frustrated, forbidden love helped establish a genre read by millions. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Why Physicists Tried to Put a Ferret in a Particle Accelerator

Felicia had a job to do. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Extraordinary Life of the Freed Slave Who Taught Darwin Taxidermy

John Edmonstone was a mentor to the budding teenage naturalist. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Lava Crickets

The volcanic bugs survive on dead plants, sea foam, and a dangerous sex life. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Race to Put Thousands of Miles of English Walking Paths Back on the Map

Corpse roads are among the country's traditional trails. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Found: York’s First Railway Station

Workers uncovered evidence from a pivotal moment in the city's modern history. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Tracing the Frenetic Movements of a London Symphony Conductor

Using 12 cameras and data visualization, this project animated Sir Simon Rattle's baton flicks at 120 frames per second. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Edible Book Festivals Are for Pun and Food Lovers – Gastro Obscura

It's been widely celebrated for almost 20 years. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Last Wild Apple Forests

Granny Smiths, Fujis, and Pink Ladies can all be traced back to Kazakhstan, where apples still grow wild. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Restaurant Reconstructing Recipes That Died with the Ottoman Empire

Eating like a sultan takes lots of detective work. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Scientists Are Fighting Fire (Ants) with Wasabi

What’s good for the sushi is not good for the Solenopsis invicta. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

How to Get Your Laundry Done in Ancient Mesopotamia

A humorous dialogue between a cleaner and customer, useful to both ancient scribes and modern scholars. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

During WWII, Bletchley Park Was Home to Codebreaking and Tea Shenanigans

Staff at "Station X" threw their teacups into lakes and stuffed them into hedges. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The ysteru

No one's quite sure why there's a metal megaphone bolted on two rocks in the middle of the Mojave Desert. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

The Long History of the Mind-Bending ‘Tiny Planet’ Panorama

Spherical landscapes helped an 18th-century scientist convey the enormity of the Alps. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago

Egg Vending Machine at Glaum Ranch

At this California chicken ranch four bucks will get you 22 eggs and a chorus of dancing animatronic poultry. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 5 years ago