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Beach photos and Shakespeare, a perfect pair.
books

The Best Things Found Between the Pages of Old Books

Atlas Obscura readers shared hundreds of stories about their surprising discoveries.
Sarah Laskow February 15, 2018
A bagel served with lox and cream cheese at Kutsher's restaurant in New York, 1977.
judaism

The Forgotten History of New York’s Bagel Famines

Remembering Local 338 and the world's toughest bagel bakers.
Natasha Frost February 9, 2018
Joe Cino, middle, in the re-opened Caffe Cino, some months after a 1965 fire.
theaters

The Gay Coffeehouse Where Off-Off Broadway Theater Was Born

Remembering the Caffe Cino of 31 Cornelia Street, New York.
Natasha Frost February 9, 2018
Watson has worked on the handwriting of famous authors, including Jane Austen. This is an 1800 letter from Austen to her sister Cassandra.
manuscripts

Where Old, Unreadable Documents Go to Be Understood

A transcriber on the Isle of Man can decipher almost anything.
Sarah Laskow February 8, 2018
"Time" is the most commonly used noun in the English language, but its meanings seem various and ill-defined.
time

How Long Is a Moment?

The physics, neuroscience, linguistics, and philosophy behind a little bit of time.
Natasha Frost February 6, 2018
John Krubsack and his chair.
trees

What Happened to the First Chair Grown From Living Trees?

On the hunt for a pioneering piece of furniture.
Sarah Laskow February 6, 2018
The scene of the crime: L'Orangerie closed its doors in 2006, after 29 years of business.
restaurants

The Court Case That Killed the 'Ladies Menu'

Upscale restaurants once listed prices only for men.
Natasha Frost February 2, 2018
The vodka martini was brought to the mainstream in the 1960s as the preferred drink of James Bond.
food

How America Fell in Love With Vodka

The “white whiskey” traded on its tastelessness.
Natasha Frost January 25, 2018
Germany declares war on the United States in 1941.
nazis

The Novel That Imagined a Nazi Future, Before WWII Even Began

In the long-forgotten "Swastika Night," Hitler is a god, women are subhuman, and love is dead.
Sarah Laskow January 24, 2018
In the early 20th century, audiences crammed in to see silent films, like this one starring William S. Hart.
movie palace

Keeping the Art of Silent Film Music Alive

Nearly a century after talkies stole the show, composers, musicians, and audiences are still playing along.
Jessica Leigh Hester January 23, 2018
The front of the document.
bookstores

The Mystery Manuscript Found in a Used Copy of 'Alice in Wonderland'

When a strange document appeared in her shop, an Australian bookseller turned detective.
Sarah Laskow January 23, 2018
Science for the People at 2017's March for Science.
science

Why a Radical 1970s Science Group Is More Relevant Than Ever

A second life for an organization of scientists who questioned how their work was being used.
Sarah Laskow January 22, 2018
Forest cover of the United States.
forests

These Vibrant Maps Reveal the World's Hidden Geographies

One man's journey from GIS specialist to artist.
Sarah Laskow January 22, 2018
Coca-Cola: forbidden fruit, or a permissible treat?
coca cola

Why Brigham Young University Had a Secret Cola Vending Machine

The complex relationship between Mormons and caffeinated soda.
Natasha Frost January 18, 2018
Catherine Heth Morrison made this flag for the 15th Virginia Infantry from her wedding clothes.
museums

The Museum That Keeps Now-Obscure Confederate Flags

Beyond the "Southern Cross," there are dozens of symbols of the Confederacy.
Sarah Laskow January 17, 2018
An engraving of surgical instruments.
medicine

Orificial Surgery Was a Gruesome 19th-Century Sham Medicine

Phrenology (and surgery) below the belt.
Natasha Frost January 16, 2018
<em>B. hyperboreus</em>, the Arctic rival of <em>B. polaris</em>.
insects

The Unlikely Survival of Bees in the Arctic

A new species has been identified in an archipelago once used for Soviet nuclear testing.
Sarah Laskow January 11, 2018
Through the whole of its existence, the Great Hedge of India was beset by difficulties and never quite accomplished its purpose.
infrastructure

The British Once Built a 1,100-Mile Hedge Through the Middle of India

This quixotic colonial barrier was meant to enforce taxes.
Sarah Laskow January 9, 2018