Atlas Obscura

Appalachia’s Ugliest Cryptid Drowns In Its Own Tears A new festival looks to draw out and soothe the squonk in all of us.

"Ugly crying" to the extreme.

Elsie’s Plate & Pie Crawfish hand pies, Natchitoches meat pies, and all manner of other sweet or savory, flaky-crusted pastries abound here.

This humble diner is a paradise for pie lovers.

Bell Labs Holmdel Complex The real-life ‘Severance’ office building.

A perfect place for mysterious and important work.

The Undercover Woman Who Changed Asylum Tourism Forever Visitors were drawn to mental institutions out of curiosity and compassion, but they weren’t seeing the full picture—until Nellie Bly revealed it.

In her account, Nellie Bly admitted she never attempted to act insane while inside. She wrote “the more sanely I talked and acted, the crazier I was thought to be.”

Lületaşı Müzesi (Meerschaum Museum) A museum celebrating the mineral used to make ornate, carved tobacco pipes.

Put THAT in your pipe and sculpt it.

Sanatorium - Wonder Museum Annex A bizarre, tuberculosis sanatorium-themed café moonlighting as an underground art gallery.

Creative and curious cuisine awaits you, minus the highly contagious disease.

Meet the Man Who Finds Melodies Inside Mushrooms With his plant-based compositions, biologist-turned-musician Tarun Nayar wants to change how we engage with nature.

Forget stopping and smelling the roses, it's time to linger and listen to the fungi.

Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica (International Museum and Library of Music) Featuring one of the oldest collections of historic musical literature in the world.

This museum celebrates the earliest roots of music around the world.

Atlas Obscura Names Louise Story As Its New CEO The travel publisher, which generated in $16.7 million in 2024, is also appointing a new board member

Atlas Obscura has named Louise Story as its new chief executive officer, bringing on the former Wall Street Journal and New York Times executive to shepherd the travel brand through its next phase of product and community expansion. adweek.it/4j2GNKz

❤️

Alex Trebek Mural A posthumous honor at the iconic game show host's former high school.

We'll take beloved game show hosts for $200.

Ahsan Manzil has worn pink on Wednesdays (and every other day) since the 1800s. The Pink Palace is a rosy oasis of calm amidst the hustle and bustle of the Buriganga riverfront in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Learn more: buff.ly/hzHh4aN

Dear Atlas: What Parts of Route 66 Are Worth the Drive? A curated guide to the stretches and stops that truly deserve your time.

While this iconic continuous route no longer exists in its entirety, there are still plenty of nostalgic stops worth your time.

Zine Archives Preserve Trans Survival and Storytelling - Atlas Obscura Handmade zines filled with advice, stories, and art have long been important to the LGBTQ community. A growing number of archives are preserving this history.

Atlas Obscura also has a fun piece on zine archives and queer history, especially trans history.

They also mention the Queer Zine Archive Project, which is making digital repositories! :D

atlasobscura.com/art...

The Lingering Mystery of the 'Lost Colony' of Roanoke From historians to horror writers to white nationalists, attempts to explain the settlement's fate reveal a great deal about our own attitudes.

If you'd like something of a break from the news...I have a new column up at Atlas Obscura, on the Lost Colony of Roanoke, and how we use unsolved mysteries to, in the words of historian Robert Arner, to transform "unacceptable facts into at least minimally acceptable fictions.”

15 Places That Feel Like a Wes Anderson Film These locations look like they came straight out of the director’s imagination.

From historic grand hotels to old-timey confectionaries, these places capture the distinctly charming quality of a Wes Anderson film.

The Heyday of Horror Hotlines and Why We Still Love to Fear the Phone A lesser-known subgenre of the 900-number boom allowed callers to connect with Freddy Krueger and chat with zombies.

"What's your favorite scary movie?"

The House of Mugs A cabin completely covered in coffee mugs, where visitors are welcome to leave one of their own—if they can find an empty nail.

This quirky cottage is the perfect place to retire a beloved mug.

This Is the Most Detailed Map of Antarctica Ever Made Scientists compiled decades of data to reveal the continent hiding beneath millions of miles of ice.

NEW: Have you ever wondered what lies beneath all of Antarctica's ice? Well, thanks to 70 years' worth of surveys, you can see! Take a look at this map: it reveals a hidden world of mountains and canyons not seen for 35 million years.

Me @atlasobscura.com www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ant...

In March 2024, Deb Manley, a volunteer in Big Bend National Park, Texas, uploaded photos of a small, low-lying plant covered in silvery fuzz to the species identification app iNaturalist. Not only was this the first recorded sighting on the app, it was the first sighting, period: buff.ly/h5dDfgt

How Can Myths Help Us Understand the Stars? Astrophysicist and folklorist Moiya McTier teaches science through storytelling.

Join us on a journey through stories and stars alongside expert @goastromo.bsky.social ✨

Marble Caves of Chile Chico Mother Nature outdoes herself with this stunningly beautiful set of caves carved into marble.

Natural wonders are always magical, but these particular caves have outdone themselves.

When springtime arrives in the Dutch town of Lisse, so do the vibrant blooms of more than seven million bulbs along Keukenhof Gardens' twisting pathways and serene ponds.⁠

Read the full story of its history here: buff.ly/B5pgnxT

Saffron Finches are exceptionally musical birds, though they tend to favor one song in particular: buff.ly/CEmE675

One Last Ride for Antarctica’s 'Ivan the Terra Bus' After more than 30 years as an iconic fixture of the polar research station, this beloved bus is bidding farewell to the southern continent.

a new polar piece from me in @atlasobscura.com today! featuring the last days of the elderly, beloved antarctic vehicle IVAN THE TERRABUS.... www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ant...

For Nova Scotians, Local Maple Syrup Is a Disappearing Pleasure Sweet with notes of pine and ocean, the unique delight is under threat.

This beloved breakfast accoutrement is quickly becoming endangered.

Museo de la Caricatura (Caricature Museum) Celebrating the art of caricature, from comics to political cartoons.

A serious look into the "unserious" art of caricatures .

Dovecot Studios A rare opportunity to see artists working on their craft in a unique setting.

From this skylit balcony in Edinburgh, Scotland, visitors can watch designers working on giant looms in what was once a 19th-century swimming pool.

Gróthúsvatn’s Witch Rock Every summer, women from this small Faroese island cover this specific stone with knitted graffiti.

A colorful way to honor a local and legendary witch.

The Original Taco Bell Building Someone really, really wanted to save this fast-food icon from demolition.

After closing in its original Downey location, “Taco Bell Numero Uno” was uprooted and driven down Interstate 5 to this very parking lot, where it has sat locked and empty ever since. ⁠