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Imperial measurements.
London, England

Trafalgar Square Imperial Measurements

These official units of measurement—including chains and perches—lie hidden beneath tourists' feet in a popular London hub.
The Tinker mausoleum.
North Adams, Massachusetts

Hillside Cemetery

This sprawling 18th-century cemetery features unique and beautiful gravestones, including one shaped like a tree.
The ripples are plainly visible beside dinosaur tracks. A new mural above showcases both.
dinosaurs

Prehistoric Sand Is Full of Secrets

Petrified wave ripples can tell us about the weather that dinosaurs saw.
Jessica Leigh Hester October 18, 2018
Site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
Shanghai, China

Site of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party

The powerful party began with a secret meeting in this shikumen in 1921.
The ruins of Tyre are perilously close to the water.
floods

Here Are the Mediterranean Sites That Will Be Swallowed By the Sea

Coastal erosion and flooding are bad news for these ancient places.
Jessica Leigh Hester October 16, 2018
A timeline of tape.
Two Harbors, Minnesota

3M Birthplace Museum

This institution celebrates the happy accidents of uncommon sticktoitiveness.
At Bistro Nobel, you too can have dessert like a prizewinner.
nobel prize

The Pyrotechnic Ice-Cream Parades of the Nobel Prize Banquet

Once, there was even an official ice cream.
Anne Ewbank October 16, 2018
Abandoned Gold Rush ships in San Francisco Bay, 1849.
ships

A Century Ago, Wood-Eating Worms Devastated San Francisco Bay

The battle against them is still being waged today.
Matthew Taub October 15, 2018
Norbury Hall Park.
London, England

Norbury Hall Park

This peaceful park with centuries of history hides in an overlooked section of South London.
Ukiah Latitude Observatory in the early 1900s.
Ukiah, California

Ukiah Latitude Observatory

One of only five observatories in the world built to measure the Earth's wobble.
Willard's "introductory" map showed the movements of tribes.
maps

Maps Have the Power to Shape History

A groundbreaking female cartographer charted the evolution of the United States—and the dispossession of Native Americans.
Sarah Laskow October 15, 2018
Casa Redonda.
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Casa Redonda

A mysterious architectural gem in one of the most elegant areas of Buenos Aires.
Historical markers at Willa Cather Memorial Prairie.
Red Cloud, Nebraska

Willa Cather Prairie

Over 600 acres of idyllic open grassland honor Nebraska’s georgic storyteller.
Sunderland, England

St. Peter's Church

One of England's oldest stone churches and the birthplace of the "father of English history."
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Wheeler Ferris Wheel

The surprising home of the iconic Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel.
Visby, Sweden

The Maiden's Tower

Known locally as the Jungfrutornet, this Medieval tower hides a dark legend.
Batavia Depot Museum
Batavia, Illinois

Batavia Depot Museum

An exhibit of items from the mental institution where Mary Todd Lincoln lived after her son conspired to have her committed.
The Hague, Netherlands

Louwman Historic Telescopes

The world's largest private telescope collection hides in a secret wing of a Dutch auto museum.