jewels
Stolen: A Duchess's $1.3 Million Diamond Tiara
It's inlaid with 367 diamonds.
All Stories
rivals
The Battle of the Golden Toilets
When art collectives feud, we all win.
goats
When Science and the Occult Went Head-to-Head on a German Mountaintop
Spoiler alert: science won.
visual
The Strange and Grotesque Doodles in the Margins of Medieval Books
When the edges take center stage.
spring
The Perfect Time-Lapse Video for Rainy Spring Days
And all it took was three years to make.
sewers
Spilled: 200 Gallons of Cream in Virginia
Accidents happen.
travel
Europeans Are Losing Their Minds Over This Boring Bird
Fame is contextual.
treasure
Found: A Treasure Buried by a Teen in 1981
After three decades, someone finally dug it up.
jobs
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Is Looking for a Librarian
For those about to apply—we salute you.
books
Found: Pages From One of the First Books Ever Printed in England
They were meant to tell priests how to plan feasts.
egypt
Lettuce for the Dead in a Tidy, 4,000-Year-Old Egyptian Funeral Garden
The find is the first of its kind.
holidays
Get in on the Conspiracy: Celebrate Pynchon in Public Day
Today is the author's 80th birthday.
drones
After Two Years in Orbit, a Secret Government Drone Has Landed
Just a totally normal government robot plane ending its shadow mission.
map monday
How to Digitize a 357-Year-Old Atlas That's Nearly 6 Feet Tall
It's not going to fit in a scanner.
features
Eating Spaghetti by the Fistful Was Once a Neapolitan Street Spectacle
Tourists flocked to see the "macaroni eaters" cram noodles into their mouths.
beaches
After a 33-Year Absence, a Lost Beach Returns to Ireland
A storm washed the beach away in 1984—and another one brought it back last month.
obscura day 2017
The Best of Obscura Day 2017
Oh, the places you went.
wind
Found: Rare, Bizarre ‘Dragon-Skin Ice’
It's "evidence of a darker chaos," one scientist says.
