All Stories

Dani Church has run the Southwold-Walberswick ferry for the last 22 years. Her family has been navigating the River Blyth since 1885.

ferries

The Oldest Rowboat Ferry in England Is Not Slowing Down

The same family has been crossing the River Blyth for six generations.

A group of medieval knights prepares to launch their tanking vessel into the slow-moving waters of Nebraska’s North Platte River.

summ

Whatever Floats Your Boat – or Tank

Nebraskans have come up with an ingenious way of cooling down along the state’s many waterways.

Until the 1990s, when billboards were banned in Spain, these bulls were painted with the name of Veterano Osborne brandy. The company removed the words and successfully fought to have the enormous bulls considered art.

symbols

How These Bull-Shaped Billboards Became Spanish Icons

Once an advertisement for brandy, the Osborne bull is now a symbol of the country.

Podcast: Close to the Edge

travel

Podcast: Close to the Edge

We all dream of the perfect vacation. This episode is about the opposite.

The last wild Round Island hurricane palm stands nearly 30 feet tall, towering above other palms.

extinction

This Mauritius Palm Is the Last of Its Kind in the Wild

Dedicated scientists are going to extremes to save this rare plant from extinction.

Eunice Winkless diving at the Steel Pier.

sideshow

Remembering When Horse Diving Was an Actual Thing

For 50 years, this bizarre act was one of Atlantic City's biggest attractions.

Podcast: Iowa Remnant Prairies

ecology

Podcast: Iowa Remnant Prairies

There's always more to the land than meets the eye.

A bald eagle catches a coot in its talons at Orlando Wetlands Park in February 2023. The park—a natural wastewater treatment facility—attracts more than 230 bird species, as well as alligators, turtles, bobcats, and other wildlife.

wetlands

This Orlando Water Park Is Wild. No, Really.

At Orlando Wetlands Park, water goes for a ride—through a natural filtration process—and attracts birds, gators, and more.

Digitizing gravestones from the colonial era preserves them for future study and makes them more accessible, but it also raises questions about how to study this period of American history.

digitization

Burial Hill's Historic Gravestones Are Coming to Your Screen

Digitizing markers at the Massachusetts cemetery makes them more accessible.

The good old days in the 1950s, when airlines advertised delicious food.

aircraft

Remembering the Golden Age of Airline Food

Why were in-flight meals so much better in the past?

Wander into our forest of blood-chilling spring tales—if you dare.

beltane

Spring Is for Monsters, Ancient Rituals, and Scary Stories

From haunting tales of the Bell Witch to child-eating swamp monsters, the season is full of frights.

Podcast: National Poo Museum

poop

Podcast: National Poo Museum

A place where excrement is elevated.

All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

mathematics

Puzzle Monday: A Number System of Their Own

U.S. Marines stand guard in the Garmsir district of Helmand Province in 2009. The province was the site of the most deaths of American and British soldiers during the U.S./NATO–led occupation of the country.

islam

The Harrowing Tale of Afghanistan’s ‘Haunted’ Outpost

Centuries-old culture and modern military psychology intertwined at Observation Point Rock.

On closer examination, the map reveals the places of residence of accused witches, here in the Greater Edinburgh area.

witch burnings

Explore This Map of More Than 3,000 Scottish Witches

An Edinburgh University project uses data to track the victims of Scottish "witch-prickers" in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Every year on May 1st the small town of Cocullo in central Italy celebrates its patron saint San Domenico Abate. The celebration resembles many other Catholic festivities, but during this religious procession the saint's statue is fully covered with living snakes.

snakes

The Italian Town that Welcomes Spring with Live Snakes

It's a good omen if the reptiles wrap themselves around the head of San Domenico Abate.

Miniwashitu is described as a frightening-looking creature with an important job: breaking up the ice on the Missouri River with its saw-like backbone.

monster mythology

In North Dakota, the Hideous Miniwashitu Ushers in Spring

The Madan people knew the Missouri River could bring both salvation and destruction.

Coronation quiche was served at an event at Westminster Abbey in April.

recipe

Eat Like a King With the Official Coronation Quiche

Can Charles III's recipe live up to his mother's curried chicken?