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Brussels, Belgium

Everard t'Serclaes Monument

A shining memorial to a Belgian hero is said to bring luck to anyone who touches it.
Layd Church Ruins 1
Cushendall, Northern Ireland

Layd Church Ruins

The father of Belfast medicine is buried in the graveyard of this 13th-century church, which now lies in ruins.
Though the <em>arêtes de poisson</em>, or “fishbones,” tunnels were discovered in 1959, research on their origin has been halting and inconclusive.
exploration

Was There Treasure Buried Under Lyon?

Since their discovery more than 60 years ago, the "Fishbones" tunnels beneath the French city have been an enigma.
Anna Richards December 19, 2022
prisons

Podcast: The Rotary Jail Museum

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team April 13, 2022
The Carberry Hill monument
Carberry, Scotland

Carberry Hill Monument

A small stone pillar marks the spot where Mary, Queen of Scots, spent her final hours as a free woman.
Padernello Manor
Padernello, Italy

Castello di Padernello

A stately castle in the northern Italian countryside has been restored after years of neglect.
A block carrying an ancient Roman inscription was reused in a medieval wall in Conza. On the left, the remains of the Roman forum can be seen below street-level buildings that survived a 1980 earthquake.
disasters

In 1980, an Earthquake Destroyed an Italian Town—and Revealed Another

In Conza today, millennia of history seem to exist all at the same time.
Federico Formica April 6, 2022
Filmmaker Ken Burns's lauded documentaries include <em>The Civil War</em>, <em>Baseball</em>, and <em>The National Parks: America's Best Idea</em>.
film

Ken Burns on His Obsession With Ben Franklin, and Admiration for Guy Fieri

The documentary filmmaker talks about a founder's flaws, radical openness, and road tripping for a sandwich.
Matthew Taub April 5, 2022
Bratislava Old Town Hall
Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava Old Town Hall's Cannonball

Launched by Napoleon's soldiers more than 200 years ago, a cannonball remains embedded in the tower wall.
forests

Podcast: Chemin de la Mâture

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team April 5, 2022
clocks

Podcast: Corpus Clock and Chronophage

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team April 4, 2022
Dolores Cacuango, shown here in 1969, is known as "Mama Dolores" or "Mama Warrior," and her name rings out during protests in Ecuador today, 50 years after her death.
women

In the Footsteps of Ecuador's 'Mama Warrior'

How the country's Indigenous communities are keeping the memory of activist Dolores Cacuango alive.
Kimberley Brown March 31, 2022
Sanquhar Castle
Sanquhar, Scotland

Sanquhar Castle

A 13th-century stronghold that has fallen into ruin.
The Martyrs' Tomb hidden in the Glentrool woodland
Glentrool, Scotland

Martyrs' Tomb Glen Trool

A square stone tomb marks the spot where six men were killed while holding a service in Caldoris Wood.
Exporting hair and, later, producing wigs helped turn South Korea into an economic powerhouse. Wig making was considered women's work, and it laid the foundation for the rise of women's labor unions in the country.
hair

How Women—and Their Hair—Transformed South Korea

Newly fashionable in the 1960s, wigs brought millions of dollars into the war-ravaged country.
Wendy Wei March 30, 2022
A 1920's meeting of <em>Les Belles Perdrix.</em>
food

The All-Female Culinary Clubs of 20th-Century France

Even Julia Child was a member.
Alex Katsomitros March 29, 2022
Harpreet Chandi took 40 days to complete her solo 700-mile trek to the South Pole, skiing while pulling a 200-pound pulk, or cargo sled. Here, she trains for the adventure in Norway.
antarctic

This Is What a Polar Explorer Looks Like

Thirty-three-year-old Harpreet Chandi recently became the first woman of color to make the difficult solo trek to the South Pole.
Amy Crawford March 29, 2022
A detail of a plant with blue berries, from Marianne North's 1876 painting <em>Curious Plants from the Forest of Matang, Sarawak, Borneo.</em>
science

A Botanical Mystery Solved, After 146 Years

How a young illustrator’s attention to detail—and a determined Victorian woman's legacy—led to the discovery of a new species in an old painting.
Gemma Tarlach March 29, 2022