Why Medieval Monasteries Branded Their Books

The fiery marks were a way to keep track of tomes on the move. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Why One Island Grows 80% of the World’s Vanilla

Now, it's more valuable than silver. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Where the 'No Ending a Sentence with a Preposition' Rule Comes From

It all goes back to 17th-century England and a fusspot named John Dryden. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

These 800-year-old ruins were the royal residence for hunting in Sherwood Forest

These medieval ruins were once a royal retreat for hunting in Sherwood Forest. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

A New Accent Is Developing in Southwest Kansas

The diverse young people of the town of Liberal are coming up with their own way to talk. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Engineer Behind 175 Year Old Tunnel Built Secret Birthday Present for Himself

The creator of the Box Tunnel built in a secret birthday present for himself. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Dark and Fabulous Dinner Parties of the First Professional Food Critic

Grimod de La Reynière hosted dark and fabulous dinner parties. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Seaweed Ale

The ocean-scented ale pays homage to an old Scottish style. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

One of the world's most hazardous jobs is known for its intense pressure. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Forgotten Black Pioneers Who Settled the Midwest

Before the Civil War, free black settlements grew in the Northwest Territory. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Many Reasons Biologists Eat Their Study Subjects

Snacking on specimens from raw monkey to bee vomit can help scientists figure stuff out. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

One of the world's largest steam locomotives is making a triumphant return

Hold onto your engineer caps, railroad history lovers. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Before Sloth Meant Laziness, It Was the Spiritual Sin of Acedia (2017)

And why early monks in the desert didn't want to fall asleep during the day. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Anata No Warehouse

This faux-seedy Japanese arcade is made up to look like a maze of alleys straight out of a cyberpunk dystopia. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

When Researchers Used IHOP to Determine If Kansas Is Flatter Than a Pancake

Delicious, and helpful. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Climate Change Made Zombie Ants Even More Cunning

Your move, Hollywood. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Cold, Damp 'Sky Islands' Are Hotspots for Unusual Plants and Animals

Exploring an ecological oasis high up on the Philippines' Palawan Island. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Aliens Might Never Appreciate How Cool Voyager’s Golden Record Is

If they find it, they may just be confused. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Remembering When Only Barbarians Drank Milk

"Butter eater" was once a terrible insult. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

How Corning, NY Changed the World with Glass

In the late 1860s, a barge helped the "Crystal City" usher in a new era of innovation. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Why Genetics Researchers Are Looking for the Loch Ness Monster

"I don’t believe that there’s a monster, but if I’m wrong, well, that’s OK." | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Russian Philosopher Who Sought Immortality in the Cosmos

To create the Kingdom of Heaven, simply reanimate the space-strewn molecules of your ancestors. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Real Birthplace of Silicon Valley in Mountain View, California

The first high-tech company in the valley that actually worked with silicon devices. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

A Collection of Your Most Incredible Vintage Board Games

We asked you to send us your oldest board games, and you didn't play around. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

We Have Probably Been Imagining Pterosaurs All Wrong

Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Cosmic Fetus of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Hasn’t Aged a Day

One of the most iconic props in film history is still circling the world. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Why Is New Zealand So Often Left Off World Maps?

An island nation's call for help. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The History of the Philips CD-I, Failed PlayStation Ancestor

This ill-fated CD console produced some amazingly off-brand Nintendo games. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Caribbean-Americans Searching for Their Chinese Roots

Hakka Conferences are allowing distant relatives to meet and untangle their complex genealogy. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Early Hackers Used Whistles from Cap’n Crunch Cereal Boxes

You can draw a line from the tiny toys to Apple Inc. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The World’s Best Violins Sing Like Humans

Some are baritones, some are tenors. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The ‘Pedestrian’ Who Became One of America’s First Black Sports Stars

In 1880, Frank Hart wowed audiences at New York's Madison Square Garden by walking 565 miles in six days. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Remembering the ‘Knocker-Ups’ Hired to Wake Workers with Pea Shooters

Rise and shine! | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Scientific Detectives Probing the Secrets of Ancient Oracle

Geological features, toxic fumes, and visions of the future. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Scientific Detectives Probing the Secrets of Ancient Oracle

Geological features, toxic fumes, and visions of the future. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Every City Has Its Secret Gardens

Step inside the hidden green spaces of cities around the world. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Inside the World’s Only Sourdough Library

The collection holds 105 starters and counting. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

How Ceiling Fans Helped Slaves Eavesdrop on Plantation Owners

The punkahs of the Antebellum era served many purposes. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Cave Diving Is Every Bit as Dangerous and Wonderful as It Seems

Huge chunks of the Earth's surface are not hills or valleys, but pockmarked holes. Humans can only enter a small percentage of these caves and caverns, often... | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

What Does Your Oldest Board Game Look Like?

That forgotten game hidden in the back of your closet is also a time capsule. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

How a Hole Punch Shaped Public Perception of the Great Depression

The notorious photo editor who introduced "America to Americans." | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

How Do You Decode a Hapax legomenon? (Also, What’s a Hapax legomenon?)

It's a word that only appears once in a work, author's oeuvre, or an entire language's written record. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The nervous system of Harriet Cole

The meticulously extracted nerves of a 19th-century cleaning lady. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver

One of the world's most hazardous jobs is known for its intense pressure. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Rare wooden escalators lead down into a staggeringly monotonous tiled tunnel

Rare wooden escalators lead deep down into an otherwise staggeringly monotonous tiled tunnel. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

For 78,000 Years, People Have Called a Kenyan Forest Cave Home

The layers of Panga ya Saidi reveal millennia of subtle cultural and technological change. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

Where Did the Prohibition on Combining Seafood and Cheese Come From?

Fish and dairy can make for a delicious mix, despite popular belief. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago

During Prohibition, Federal Chemists Used Poison to Stop Bootlegging

They tried to make industrial alcohol too lethal to drink. | Continue reading


@atlasobscura.com | 6 years ago