All Stories

The track is open long into the night.

winter

Edmonton Embraces the Cold by Turning Park Paths Into Frozen Skating Trails

The capital of Alberta leans way in to its frigid winters.

Ulrich Pinder's 1506 urine chart.

manuscripts

What a Chart of Urine Tells Us About the History of Color Printing

A 1506 medical text included a diagnostic guide, but it was best used with caution.

Immortalizing Human Scents as Memory Perfumes

noses

Immortalizing Human Scents as Memory Perfumes

Bodily odors are forever.

That's St. Nicholas, patron saint of pawnbrokers.

ring

Found: A 700-Year-Old Ring Adorned With St. Nicholas

It was probably lost by a medieval pilgrim on his way to the Holy Land.

Gender breakdowns like this one, at a 1904 dinner at the Trocadero Restaurant in London, were not atypical.

celebrity

Why Europe's First Celebrity Chef Named His Dishes After the Rich and Famous

Auguste Escoffier was the all-star genius behind Melba toast.

Two short-finned pilot whales move through the ocean.

migrations

From Turtles to Whales, Marine Animals Have the Same Moves

With the help of remote tracking devices, scientists are deducing the choreography of the sea.

Marian Anderson in 1940.

archive

An Incredible Collection of Marian Anderson's Life Is Getting Digitized

The famous singer's archive includes performances, diaries, and scrapbooks.

The entrance to the now iconic Seed Vault at dusk, with its illuminated artwork over the door.

seed banks

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault Awaits Its Millionth Crop Deposit

Bambara groundnuts, black-eyed peas, and Estonian onion potato seeds are headed to the bank.

Wangenheim wrote his final letter on September 19, 1937.

prisons

The Poignant Gulag Art by Stalin's Doomed Meteorologist

Imprisoned for "false weather forecasts," Alexey Wangenheim sent sketches to the family he'd never see again.

Try the Chips of the Future, Today

wishlist

Try the Chips of the Future, Today

Chirps chips come in several flavors, are extremely tasty, and just happen to be made out of crickets.

Therapeutic bathing in 1571 (although this was likely plain water—not soup broth).

food as medicine

The Hidden History of Bathing in Soup Broth

Doctors and folk practitioners alike swore by its healing properties.

We Shall Liberate Taiwan!, by the Hongyingbi (Red Eagle Brush) unit of the Air Force Unit of Nanjing Military Region, 1969.

propaganda

The Art of Chinese Propaganda Posters

A glimpse inside the collection of Shaomin Li, artist and dissident.

If you want free cheese, make haste to New Zealand. And get ready to pay with your time.

marketing

Complete This 2,000-Piece Puzzle to Win Free Cheese

Dairy has never been so puzzling.

A scene from the Westminster Tournament Roll, showing John Blanke, an African trumpeter who worked for Henry VIII.

tudors

The Africans Who Called Tudor England Home

Hundreds of Africans lived freely during the reign of Henrys VII and VIII.

Jesse Bethea imagines an enormous, eyeless catfish, with spines like a lion fish.

monsters

Your Climate Change Monsters, Revealed

The face of climate change, as chosen by Atlas Obscura readers.

Fragments of prehistoric life are embedded all over the urban landscape. But you have to look close.

everyday wonder

How to Spot the Fossils Hiding in Plain Sight

Traces of prehistoric life are everywhere.

Napkins will gladly hold whatever threatens to spill over, whether that's a dribble, a scribble, or a full-fledged poem.

trash

Don't Just Wipe Your Face—Write a Poem!

A recently resuscitated online literary journal is dedicated to the humble napkin.

The ladder shape composed of red horizontal and vertical lines (center left) dates to older than 64,000 years and was made by Neanderthals.

neanderthals

The Earliest European Cave Art Was Made by Neanderthals

A new study suggests that they had the capacity for symbolic behavior.