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One of the gargoyles that adorns Oxford’s Magdalen College.
8 Gargoyles and Grotesques Hiding in Plain Sight
Only-in-Anchorage Winter Traditions
Moose are frequently spotted around Flattop Mountain and the Glen Alps Trailhead.
Anchorage: A City Within the Wild
Where to See the World’s Creepiest Dolls and Toys

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Puzant Torigian holds a head of lettuce in a Texas field.

smoking

One Man’s Lifelong Quest to Create a Lettuce Cigarette

To help people quit smoking, Puzant Torigian put his life savings (and lungs) on the line.

Mark Hay
Atlas Obscura
March 13, 2025
The flavor and hue of the syrup depends on many factors, including minerals, bacteria, and time of harvest.

maple syrup

For Nova Scotians, Local Maple Syrup Is a Disappearing Pleasure

Sweet with notes of pine and ocean, the unique delight is under threat.

Sarah Lohman
Atlas Obscura
March 11, 2025
Meeting locals while traveling to a new place isn’t impossible.

dear atlas

Dear Atlas: How Do I Actually Meet Locals When I Travel?

For when you want to make a genuine connection with someone who isn’t your tour guide.

Atlas Obscura
March 11, 2025
Every year, spawning eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) return to the Nass River from the sea, where they spend most of their lives.

first nations

Where the Savior Fish Still Swims

In an era of collapse, a fabled fish keeps coming back to the Nisg̱a’a nation.

Shanna Baker
Atlas Obscura
March 10, 2025
Clockwise from top left: white, black, long, cubeb, grains of paradise, red Sichuan, and green Sichuan peppers.

ingredients

A Guide to the Peppers of the World

Which came first: the pepper, or the pepper?

Andrew Coletti
Atlas Obscura
March 10, 2025
Jeannette Beranger with a Poitou donkey, her favorite heritage breed.

ao wants to know

What Makes Heritage Livestock So Important? AO Wants to Know.

Jeannette Beranger is on a mission to save America’s rarest farm animals from extinction.

Andrew Coletti
Atlas Obscura
March 6, 2025
The walls of the Octagon Earthworks in Heath, Ohio, form an enclosure large enough to fit four Roman Colosseums.

earthworks

These 2,000-Year-Old Mounds Trace the Path of the Moon

After spending the last century as a golf course, the Octagon Earthworks are now protected—and celebrated—for their ancient Native American origins.

Olivia Young
Atlas Obscura
March 5, 2025
The first photo of the woolly devil made a stir among botanists when Deb Manley uploaded it to iNaturalist in March 2024.

new species

A Devilish New Species Discovered in Big Bend National Park

This tiny, fuzzy sunflower relative has been hiding in plain sight—it represents the first new genus identified in a U.S. national park in nearly 50 years.

Andrew Coletti
Atlas Obscura
March 4, 2025
Loud traffic bows down to a silent savior.

traffic lights

Mimes Directing Traffic in Bogotá Had Surprisingly Loud Impacts

Behavioral scientists applaud a quiet yet theatrical shift in societal thinking.

Abi Cole
Atlas Obscura
March 4, 2025
The simplest Turkish delight can still come in a range of flavors and colors.

candy

In Defense of Turkish Delight

This traditional sweet is actually pretty delightful.

Anne Ewbank
Atlas Obscura
March 3, 2025
An elkhorn coral shows signs of bleaching on the coral reef of Sand Key in the waters south of Key West.

reproduction

Florida’s Iconic Corals Aren’t Having Babies Anymore

A recent baby bust has scientists alarmed—it's a bad sign for the future of a reef that's already struggling.

Benji Jones
Atlas Obscura
March 3, 2025
Floral games and nudity were a big part of a spring festival in Ancient Rome.

prostitution

Sex Work Throughout History: Our Favorite Reads

Before ‘Anora,’ there was Ancient Rome.

Roxanne Hoorn
Atlas Obscura
February 28, 2025
Turns out the Pacific Ocean and Utah desert have a lot in common.

spycraft

How Cold War Spying From Space Connected the Galaxy to Utah

NASA and the private space sector are now turning to technology used for a top-secret 1960s mission.

Danny Robb
Atlas Obscura
February 27, 2025
Schütte-Lihotzky believed architecture could be a tool for helping women, children, and the working class.

communism

Meet the Feminist Resistance Fighter Who Created the Modern Kitchen

Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky left an indelible mark on Austria, architecture, and how we cook.

Kaja Seruga
Atlas Obscura
February 26, 2025
Bethlehem Steel was once among the largest steel-producing companies in the world. Though the company dissolved in 2003, the blast furnaces at its flagship mill in Pennsylvania remain a local landmark.

decay theory

The Steel Mill That Built America

Bethlehem Steel was the birthplace of skyscrapers, bridges, and battleships. What happened after the plant's furnaces went cold?

Matthew Christopher
Atlas Obscura
February 25, 2025
Don't forget the cherry on top.

recipes

Midcentury America's Most Scandalous Salad

According to Betty Crocker, Candle Salad was even “better than a real candle.”

Diana Hubbell
Atlas Obscura
February 24, 2025
Northern elephant seals hunt nearly nonstop for more than half the year, with each seal making tens of thousands of dives in search of food.

seals

Are There Plenty of Fish in the Sea? Ask an Elephant Seal.

In California, deep-diving marine mammals help scientists count how many fish live in the ocean's twilight zone.

Atlas Obscura
February 24, 2025
Marm Mandelbaum, who ran her own school for criminals, is among one of many women making history in all the wrong ways.

our favorite reads

Women’s Wrongs: Our Favorite Reads

You can champion women’s rights and still revel in the tales of their most infamous wrongs.

Roxanne Hoorn
Atlas Obscura
February 21, 2025
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