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Quintanar de la Orden, Spain

Entremontes Winery’s Tile Mosaics

Cervantes’ Don Quixote lives on in mosaics at this La Mancha winery.
Philippeville, Belgium

World's Largest Wheelbarrow

Though Guinness took away its record, Romedenne’s 1998 wheelbarrow remains the biggest of them all.
Coimbra, Portugal

Gabinete de Curiosidades (Cabinet of Curiosities)

A Portuguese museum display features a bizarre assortment of objects.
The Codex Gigas (the Devil’s Bible) open to the portrait of the devil.
monks

Codex Gigas: Who Drew the Devil in This Massive Medieval Bible?

The Codex Gigas, also known as the Devil’s Bible, is the largest medieval manuscript still in existence—with an even bigger legend behind it.
The Podcast Team July 15, 2025
This 19th-century cobweb painting depicts a wealthy Austrian gentleman.
paintings

For Sale: A 19th-Century Portrait Painted on a Spiderweb

One of the last surviving cobweb paintings is on display this weekend.
Diana Hubbell March 13, 2025
The neuroscientist’s brain is brownish and small, but is otherwise virtually unchanged from the 1800s.
anatomy museums

A Man in 19th-Century Italy Preserved His Own Brain to Fight Eugenics

Visit Turin to see the organ—and learn how to preserve your own.
Dania Rodrigues February 18, 2025
This map of Poyais from the 1820s fooled hundreds of people.
objects of intrigue

This Map Shows a Fictional Country Created by a Con Man

In the 19th century, Scottish scammer Gregor MacGregor made a fortune selling land in Poyais.
Diana Hubbell October 31, 2024
At the University of Edinburgh's graduation ceremony, a student is tapped with the Geneva Bonnet.
objects of intrigue

Before Harry Potter’s Sorting Hat, There Was the ‘Medieval Space Bonnet’

Legends swirl around the University of Edinburgh’s mysterious graduation bonnet.
Sarah Thomson May 16, 2024
film locations

James Bond’s Jetpack Escape in ‘Thunderball’ Almost Didn’t Happen

At least not as initially planned.
Jennifer Byrne April 25, 2024
objects of intrigue

This New York City Map Is Full of Dutch Secrets

When Broadway was a broad way and Wall Street was a wall.
April White March 19, 2024
A 1908 edition of the <em>Evening Star</em> newspaper covers mad stones in their various forms, and goes on to explain how scientists have found them to be "worthless."
objects of intrigue

The Tale of the Mad Stone, the One-Time 'Cure' for Rabies

Before vaccines, pseudoscientific folks remedies for the deadly virus involved mysterious animal-vegetable-mineral hybrids.
Colin Dickey March 7, 2024
This diagram from <em>Modern Swindles</em> shows how card cheats work—and what happens to them when they're caught.
objects of intrigue

A Peek Inside a 'Scam Manual' Written to Help Immigrants Avoid Becoming Victims

Early 20th-century migrants from Europe had to be on their guard against marriage brokers, card sharps, ghost mediums, and more.
Nina Strochlic February 20, 2024
The cartonnage dates to 800 BC.
mummies

The Victorian Ladies Who Smuggled a Mummy Case Out of Egypt

And did the unthinkable to the mummy inside.
Indi Bains February 19, 2024
The ornate Guttmann Mouse Helmet, seen from the rear, includes depictions of what scholars believe are two mice and loaves of bread.
objects of intrigue

For Sale: A Mouse-Infested Roman Helmet That's Stumping Historians

Are the mysterious mice adorning this 1,800-year-old helmet part of an ancient joke?
Roxanne Hoorn January 31, 2024
The Virgin Mary was a common feature on Schluckbildchen.
objects of intrigue

These Tiny Baroque Prints Once Served as Edible Prayers

The sacred scraps were meant to be ingested.
Amelia Soth January 18, 2024
The gorkon will keep a stew boiling for more than 30 minutes after it's removed from a heat source.
objects of intrigue

One Man's Fight to Preserve Pakistan's Perfect Cooking Pot

The gorkon is a marvel of heat retention that's at risk of disappearing.
Juneisy Hawkins January 12, 2024
From September 2023 till August 4, 2024, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will have Velma Von Tussle's exploding wig from the 1988 <em>Hairspray</em> movie on display in a special exhibit commemorating the film's director, John Waters: Pope of Trash.
objects of intrigue

How John Waters Exploded Velma Von Tussle’s ‘Hairspray’ Wig

And what it took to save the iconic film prop for a new exhibit—hint: lots of steam.
Jennifer Byrne January 11, 2024
John McLeish, chair of the Scottish Tartans Authority; curator James Wylie; and Peter MacDonald (right), STA tartan historian (left to right), examine the Glen Affric tartan.
objects of intrigue

Scotland's Oldest Tartan Rose From a Peat Bog

The 400-year-old fabric extends the iconic pattern's history in Scotland by over a century.
Roxanne Hoorn November 16, 2023