98 Items Tagged

Love

African penguins develop a unique arrangement of black speckles on their white bellies at around three months old.

How Polka Dots Help African Penguins Stand Out From the Crowd

A new study shows how the birds identify their mates in a sea of black and white.

Roxanne Hoorn November 30, 2023

Two mules leashed to a wagon on a country road

This Couple Was Introduced by ... a Mule?

A man journeys on two mules across the U.S. to find what's missing.

The Podcast Team August 6, 2025

The small interior of a chapel with a small mosaic floor arched roof and two coffins.

Carrick-On-Shannon, Ireland

Costello Memorial Chapel

The smallest chapel in Europe is a moving testament to the love between a husband and wife.

São Miguel, Portugal

Lagoa das Sete Cidades (Lagoon of the Seven Cities)

Legend has it the lovelorn tears of a princess and a shepherd boy formed the blue and green twin lakes in the Azores archipelago.

Tallinn, Estonia

Kissing Hill

This park built on a former fortress has a reputation for romance.

Alley of the Kiss

11 Sites for Clandestine Romance

Because famous—and famously doomed—lovers have been sneaking around forever.

Diana Hubbell February 14, 2023

All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

Puzzle Monday: Be My AO Valentine Crossword

AO Puzzles February 13, 2023

Methods for determining if love is true date back centuries. In the early 1900s, serious scientists and penny-arcade entrepreneurs alike tried to measure the emotion.

Inside a Decades-Long Quest to Measure Love

The journey of the "Love Tester," from serious-seeming science to the penny-arcade amusements.

April White February 10, 2023

Churches from Poland to Missouri claim to possess some of Saint Valentine's remains. This, from the Basilica di Santa Maria in Rome, is supposed to be his skull.

4 Truly Unexpected Ways to Express Your Feelings on February 14th

What does Valentine's Day have to do with wounding insults, bone relics, and meat juice?

April White February 9, 2023

Budapest, Hungary

Prince of Buda and Princess of Pest Statue

On Gellért Hill, this statue depicts the tragic tale of lovers divided by the Danube.

The Forgotten Female Revolutionaries Behind Latin American Independence

Perhaps fiercest of all was Manuela Sáenz—spy, archivist, prankster, and companion of Simón Bolívar.

Sarah Durn March 1, 2022

Around the World in 11 Aphrodisiacs

If penis fish be the food of love, read on.

Sam O'Brien February 14, 2022

A lumpy dumb cake on its way to be baked.

The Historical Halloween Cake That Reveals Your Future Spouse

Can a "dumb cake" help you discover your fate?

Anne Ewbank November 6, 2021

Podcast: Museum of Broken Relationships

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team July 1, 2021

A closer look at the stone

Shiroishi, Japan

Shinseki Shiroishi (God Stone of Shiroishi)

A town's namesake rock has served as a spiritual matchmaker for hundreds of years.

Hachiko statue in Shibuya, Japan

The Tale of Hachiko, Japan’s Most Loyal Dog

Warning: this one’s a tear-jerker.

The Podcast Team August 6, 2025

General view of the crypt.

Pastrana, Spain

Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Collegiate Church of Pastrana) Crypt

To fit bodies into this Renaissance crypt, they were first left to decompose in the crypt's rotting room.

Coicorin, the love-inviting cat of Ginza.

'Coicorin'

Tell this pair of "love-inviting" cats in Ginza your romantic hopes.