The Ups and Downs of Being a Canal Lockmaster

Keeping a 170-year-old tradition alive on the mighty Muskingum. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

In the 1960s, the U.S. Government Set Off a Pair of Nukes Under Mississippi

It’s a nearly forgotten chapter of Cold War history that seems hard to fathom today—even for those who were there. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Science Can Now Break a Strand of Spaghetti into Just Two Pieces

Also, you're not supposed to break spaghetti. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Atlas Obscura Readers Imagine Their Future National Dishes

The food of 2050 includes crickets, plastic, and nothing at all. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Fictional Foods We Wish Were Real

Atlas Obscura readers weigh in on the fake snacks they'd most like to try. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Tattooing in the Civil War Was a Hedge Against Anonymous Death

Hidden tattoos captured soldiers' pride and patriotism, but also had a practical use. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The World's Newest, Most Gloriously Designed Maps

Cartographers, rejoice. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Unboxing a Prehistoric Fish

Watch how a 400 million-year-old species is preserved. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Ultimate Rich Kids Were the Children of Famous Explorers

Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

How to Make a Robot Move, Using Popcorn

The future is now and it’s happening, appropriately, at Cornell University. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Birth of Hawai‘i's Native-Language Newspaper Archive

Hawaiian-language experts are working to preserve a century’s worth of history. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

To Discourage Rodents from Eating Seeds, Scientists Are Getting Spicy

A ghost pepper–based coating could help ecosystems recover from wildfires. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Why So Many Diners Look Like Train Cars

Often, they traveled by rail and were built that way too. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Disturbing Fate of a Planet Made of Blueberries

You'll never look at blueberry jam the same way again. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

What Fictional Food Do You Most Want to Try?

Just because it's not real doesn't mean it can't make your mouth water. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Glamour Shots of Reptiles, Brought to You by Science

"All right Mr. Herpetologist, I'm ready for my close-up." | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

New York's Insatiable Appetite for Truly Enormous Oysters

A massive mollusk recently found in the Hudson River is the latest example of two centuries of appreciating behemoth bivalves. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Peek Inside an Unexpected Moth Slumber Party

The flying insects usually go solo—but one lepidopterist surprised hundreds snoozing together in a hollow tree. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Cool, There's Water on Mars. But Does It Make Good Pickles?

What would happen if briny Martian liquid met a Earthling cucumber? | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Ellen G.K. Rubin has more than 9,000 pop-up and movable books

Ellen G.K. Rubin has more than 9,000 pop-up and movable books. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

At Sea on Taiwan's Last Fire-Fishing Boats

Generations of nocturnal fishermen have lured their catch with fire. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The World’s Largest Speedo Collection Almost Oozed Away

In 2012, Australia's Powerhouse Museum discovered that something strange was happening with some of their swimsuits. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Journey into the World’s First Underwater Farm

A team of Italian divers is growing basil, tomatoes, and strawberries. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

In a Historic Building, Your Feet Might as Well Be Jackhammers

Museums want visitors, but many must also grapple with the vibrations they cause. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Atlas Obscura Readers' Favorite Landmark Signs

Old advertisements that have become icons. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

How Bad Karma and Bad Engineering Doomed an Ancient Cambodian Capital

Never doubt the power of the monsoon. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Feynman Diagram Rock Carving – Turan, Russia – Atlas Obscura

A tribute to Richard Feynman is carved into the land he planned to see but never got to visit. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Why Fire Retardant Is Colored Bright Red

A California fire has closed down Yosemite National Park. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Famous Landmarks, Before They Were Finished

Revealing photos of works-in-progress. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Why Some Gravestones Are Shaped Like Tree Stumps

When nature and secret societies get together. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Only Mammals Reckless Enough to Eat Hot Peppers Are Humans and Tree Shrews

These little guys would share a bag of Takis with you. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Best Notes Atlas Obscura Readers Found in Used Books

From painful spoilers to such trenchant criticism as "P.S. This book blows!" | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Monkey Buffet Festival

Macaques dine on towers of fruit among temple ruins in Lopburi, Thailand. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Man with 15,000 Pieces of Chopstick-Wrapper Origami

A restaurant job turned into a collecting passion. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Tell Us About the Items You Never Go Exploring Without

What's in your adventuring kit? | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Tell Us About the Items You Never Go Exploring Without

What's in your adventuring kit? | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

How Sherry Became the Secret to Great Scotch

Scottish and Spanish spirits have a symbiotic relationship. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Lobster Beer

Whole crustaceans get boiled in the wort for this Maine ale. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Dazzlingly Colorful Atlases That Brought the Night Sky Within Reach

Detailed maps of the heavens weren't just for scholars. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Inside the World’s Only Chile Pepper Research Institute

The center has spread spicy knowledge for decades. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Stumbling Stones of Rome

Brass cobblestones mark the places where individual Holocaust victims were taken from their homes. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Found: 14,400-Year-Old Flatbread Remains That Predate Agriculture

The burned crumbs shed light on prehistoric hunter-gatherers’ diets. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Morocco's nutty, decadent spread is made from the prized oil of the argan tree

Amlou is made from the prized oil of Morocco's argan tree. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

How Deaf Children in Nicaragua Created a New Language – Atlas Obscura

It happened on the playground. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Listen to the Mournful Wails of Planets and Moons

A saturnine soundtrack. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Wehrum – Ghost Town

The ruined remains of the old coal mining are hidden within the woods. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Narwhals Are Real, and They Could Be in Real Trouble

As Arctic waters warm, shipping traffic is rapidly increasing in their favored habitats. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

What Footage from 1980s Bike Races Can Teach Us About Climate Change

Ignore the Lycra—look at the flowers. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago