Sarah Durn's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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watches

For Pop Duo Aly & AJ, Vintage Watches Tell Stories and Keep the Past Alive

And wearing them onstage adds another tale to each timepiece.
September 19, 2023
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weird weather phenomena

6 Bonkers Travel Stories From Our Readers

From encountering a manhunt for escaped criminals to visiting a ‘time machine’ in Southern California.
August 18, 2023
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book recommendations

The 8 Best Astronomy Books For Beginners

From Mary Roach’s hilarious look at space travel to astronaut Scott Kelly’s photos documenting a year off planet.
August 10, 2023
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science museums

The Bizarre True Story of Central Park’s Doomed Victorian Dinosaur Museum

For centuries, the infamous Boss Tweed was blamed for destroying its dino-models—but what really happened is even weirder.
August 3, 2023
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sea lions

9 Incredible Wild Animal Encounters From Our Readers

From playing tag with sea lions to holding hands with an orangutan.
July 18, 2023
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book recommendations

The 7 Best Travel Books for Summer Road Trips

From David Grann’s trek into the Amazon rainforest to explorer Craig Child’s tour through Ice Age America.
July 13, 2023
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northern lights

9 Summer Night Sky Stories From Our Readers to Warm the Heart

From seeing the northern lights aboard a Navy ship in Norway to braving the cold for a glimpse of a blood moon.
June 28, 2023
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universe

How the Britpop Legends Blur Almost Launched the U.K. Space Program

What started as a late-night chat transformed into millions of dollars of funding for a Mars lander.
June 22, 2023
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recommendations

7 Books to Inspire Your Next Nature Adventure

From a hilarious dive into animal lawbreakers to a harrowing true crime tale in the Shenandoah Valley.
June 13, 2023
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adventure

11 Hyper-Local, Unique Summer Activities From Around the World

From trying a pawpaw fruit to attending Minnesota’s gopher count.
June 2, 2023
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grand canyon

The Historic Grand Canyon Adventure Two Women Had For Science

Botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter braved rapids and steep cliffs to catalog numerous plant species.
May 29, 2023
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scary spring stories

Spring Is for Monsters, Ancient Rituals, and Scary Stories

From haunting tales of the Bell Witch to child-eating swamp monsters, the season is full of frights.
May 8, 2023
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scary spring stories

Welcome to the Dark Side of Spring

The sun is out and the monsters are here.
May 1, 2023
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aboriginal australians

The Child-Eating Bunyip Haunts Australia’s Wetlands

But its complex Aboriginal Australian origins have today been commodified and suppressed.
May 1, 2023
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poland

Marie Curie As You’ve Never Met Her Before

The world’s first two-time Nobel Laureate was a nerd’s nerd who broke the law for knowledge.
April 20, 2023
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superbloom

Stunning Wildflower Superbloom Photos That Will Have You Racing to the Hills

Orange, yellow, and purple petals blanket the southwestern United States.
April 14, 2023
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sargassum

10 Photos of Seaweed Blobs That Will Blow Your Mind

As a supersized sargassum bloom heads toward Florida and the Caribbean, we take a closer look at past big blobs.
April 5, 2023
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warfare

Commander Liwayway and Other Filipino Women Who Fought During World War II

The “Huk Amazons” were military commanders, leaders, soldiers, spies, and more.
March 29, 2023
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artists

The Once and Future Luna Luna Art Amusement Park

Basquiat’s Ferris wheel, Dalí’s fun house, and other wild and whimsical designs are now being restored thanks in part to rap superstar Drake.
March 28, 2023
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glowing

How the Best Underwater Photography Reveals a World of Wonder

Welcome to the home of pink coral-scapes and fluorescent lizardfish.
March 23, 2023
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she was there

The Untold Stories of the Women Who Led Slave Revolts

Their inspiring acts of resistance were ignored or erased for centuries—until now.
March 9, 2023
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sheep

The Stark Beauty of Tushetian Shepherds’ Journey Across Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains

These stunning photographs reveal the determination and resilience of a centuries-old way of life.
March 2, 2023
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masks

In Venice, Carnival Is a Visual Feast of 18th-Century Splendor

Every February, millions of people flock to Venice for Carnival, but few know the festival’s true origins.
February 16, 2023
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she was there

That Time Eleanor Roosevelt Disappeared for 10 Days

She reappeared in World War II's Pacific theater where, for five weeks in 1943, she inspired troops and faced down air raids.
February 16, 2023