All Stories

California newts (pictured) and rough-skinned newts face danger when they travel from their wooded habitat in the Santa Cruz Mountains to Lexington Reservoir, where they breed.

citizen science

Can Citizen Scientists Prevent Another Pacific Newt Massacre?

Cars are annihilating the tiny amphibians.

organs

Podcast: Organ Stop Pizza

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

A honeycomb moray eel, stranded by the receding tide at Mahalaxmi, was later released into a nearby intertidal pool. The rocky shoreline has since been developed into part of a coastal road.

sense of place

Discovering the Unexpected Wonder of Mumbai's Coastal Wildlife

Photographer Sarang Naik is reintroducing his hometown to its rich biodiversity, from glowing corals to dazzling sea slugs.

A cold-stunned Kemp's ridley sea turtle found on a wintry Cape Cod beach will be warmed and relocated to more hospitable waters.

turtles

The Annual Airlift Saving Sea Turtles Stranded in New England

A massive human-assisted migration lands the imperiled animals back in warmer seas.

poison

Podcast: Alnwick Poison Garden

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

jobs

Wanted: The Future King and Pub Manager of Piel Island

The tiny Cumbrian island’s next monarch will be crowned with lots and lots of beer.

story

Welcome to the Spanish Village Saved by Art—And Nearly Destroyed by Fire (Updated)

In Southern Spain, a destructive blaze threatened both Genalguacil's people and their beloved public art.

flowers

President Grant’s Memorial Flowers Have Survived for 136 Years

They’ve just been sitting in the dining room all this time.

newspapers

Meet the Woman Preserving 125 Years of Black History in Baltimore

The “Afro-American” is in her blood.

airports

Podcast: The Unclaimed Baggage Center

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

In the challenging atmosphere of an underwater cave system, rescue operations are more complex—and far more risky.

diving

The Surprise Rescue-Within-a-Rescue in a Flooded Thai Cave

In 2018, before divers could reach a famously stranded junior football team, they first had to save other lives.

chefs

The Fashion Photographer Who Became a Monastery Chef

Cloistered cooking can still be high art.

drinks

Podcast: Beer Can House

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The satellite dish in action on a sunny day.

solar power

At This Armenian Restaurant, the Ovens Are Satellite Dishes

The "Sunny Meals" are made with sunshine.

Anne Bonny and Mary Read were both "convicted of piracy at a Court of Vice Admiralty [and] held at St. Jago de la Vega on the Island of Jamaica, 28th November 1720," according to the inscription accompanying this 1724 Benjamin Cole engraving from A General History of the Pyrates, by Daniel Defoe and Charles Johnson.

she was there

Women Plundered and Swashbuckled With the Best (and Worst) of Them

The new book "Pirate Women" uncovers the stories of the women who sailed their way into history, cutlass in hand.

Astronomer Gianluca Masi captured this image of the International Space Station passing directly over Rome's Colosseum.

empire

A View of the Space Age From the Classical World

This mesmerizing image brings the International Space Station and Rome's ancient Colosseum together.

Podcast: Grandma Ida’s Nut Rolls Gravestone

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

With about a third of the country below the current sea level, the Netherlands is embracing floating houses and other buildings that can adapt to rising waters.

sea

The Future is Floating for the Netherlands and Other Low-Lying Countries

Houses and other buildings that rise and fall with water levels are becoming more common in Dutch cities.

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