464 Items Tagged

Technology

The Strange Victorian Computer That Generated Latin Verse

Called the Eureka, it may have influenced Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace.

Amanda Kolson Hurley September 23, 2016

USB Drives Are Being Mysteriously Left in Australian Mailboxes

It's a little ominous.

Erik Shilling September 22, 2016

Some Official Robot Ethics Were Released in Britain

Let's not create racist murder bots.

Eric Grundhauser September 20, 2016

Permanently Closed

Solar Two Power Tower

Daggett, California

Solar One and Solar Two

Decommissioned experimental solar facilities that pioneered solar energy technology.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Maillardet's Automaton

The origin of this mechanical boy was a mystery until he revealed his maker by writing it in perfect cursive.

The First Robot 'Motherships' Are Coming ... And They're Minivans

Welcome to a future soccer moms can be proud of.

Eric Grundhauser September 8, 2016

Atlas Obscura's Guide to the Longest Running Scientific Experiments

"Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sarah Brumble September 6, 2016

The dome is visible from the air--a perfect circle concealing something darker.

7 Nuclear Test Sites You Can Visit Today

Where to see the vestiges of nuclear weapons tests around the world.

Meg Neal September 3, 2016

Aerial photograph of Ivanpah Solar Power Facility

San Bernardino County, California

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility

The world’s largest concentrated solar plant generates as many problems as megawatts.

LA's Shade Balls Are Still (Mostly) Going Strong

A year into their fame, the LA Reservoir is still covered with the little guys.

Cara Giaimo August 26, 2016

The World's First Self-Driving Taxis Debut in Singapore

The future is here.

Erik Shilling August 25, 2016

Say Farewell to New York's Original Apple Store

Computer mecca Tekserve hits the auction block.

Atlas Obscura August 19, 2016

Lenin greets visitors in front of the Central Pavilion

Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy

This newly renovated Soviet-era outdoor exhibition center is bigger than the principality of Monaco.

Grave of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

Giessen, Germany

Grave of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

Final resting place of the humble physicist who discovered X-rays, and made the invisible visible.

Summit of the Alp

London, England

Beckton Alp

This toxic spoil heap found a second life as a ski slope, popular film location, and wildlife haven.

Aerial view of Fort Peck Dam, showing both powerhouses and dam. Missouri River, Fort Peck, Montana

Nashua, Montana

Fort Peck Dam

This record-setting hydraulic dam in the Montana badlands was one of FDR's most ambitious public works.

Woodstock, Maine

The World's Largest Telephone

A giant telephone commemorates the last "crank" call ever made in the U.S.

Daugavpils, Latvia

Daugavpils Shot Tower

This Latvian shot factory is still used twice a year to manufacture bullets the old-fashioned way.