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Maultaschen
The origins of Germany’s Maultaschen are deliciously devious. Legend has it that, in the late Middle Ages, a lay brother named Jakob invented the stuffed pasta dumplings at the Maulbronn Monastery, a...
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Tiquira
Indigenous Brazilians have fermented alcoholic beverages from the cassava root for thousands of years. These beer-like beverages go by names like cauim, caxiri, and tarubá. Fermentation is an...
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Nectar Soda
Though Cincinnati is best known for breweries, another effervescent beverage has a long history in the Queen City: the nectar soda. Home to the oldest pharmacy college in the U.S. west of the...
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Demand for Tiny Plants Is Driving a Poaching Crisis in South Africa
This story was originally published in Yale Environment 360 and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Tiny plants in plastic pots, each carefully labeled, cram a South African...
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One Last Ride for Antarctica’s 'Ivan the Terra Bus'
Everyone in Antarctica knows Ivan. Even those that haven’t had the pleasure of riding inside of him—in comfortable seats, surrounded by wood paneling and the pleasant sounds of jazz warbling from his...
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Gator, Boar, and Venison? Inside the Boldest Bowl of Chili in Florida
Hundreds of years ago, long before terms like “forest to table” or “farm to fork” were trendy, Florida’s Indigenous tribes—Tocobaga, Mocoso, Pohoy, and later, Seminole—lived off the land, crafting the...
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Raise a Toast to L.A.'s Century-Old Breakfast Club
Shannon King’s first experience with the Los Angeles Breakfast Club was a presentation by Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr. Unlike most educational presentations, however, this one took place at the crack of...
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A Friendlier Form of Bullfighting in the 'Wild West' of France
A dusty arena in the French village of Marsillargues seems like an improbable setting for Carmen. The crowd is dressed in patterned shirts and denim—Provençal rancher wear—instead of opera attire. Yet,...
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Meet Pennsylvania's Apple-Snatching 'Little Bigfoot'
Early one February morning in 2002, Rick Fisher was driving down Route 23 toward Marietta, Pennsylvania, when he saw what he thought was a child standing in the middle of the road. He slowed, planning...
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Zine Archives Preserve Trans Survival and Storytelling
On an August night in 1991, Nancy Jean Burkholder was kicked out of the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. It wasn’t because she was disrupting the event—it was because she was transgender. The lesbian...
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On the Road in a Giant Almond
This article is adapted from the March 29, 2025, edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here. Since the advent of the car, food companies have used them to advertise....
View ArticleDear Atlas: How Can I Turn My Airport Layover Into an Adventure?
Dear Atlas is Atlas Obscura’s travel advice column, answering the questions you won’t find in traditional guidebooks. Have a question for our experts? Submit it here. * * * Dear Atlas, If I’m gonna...
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This Octopus Is Using a Beer Bottle as a Nursery
This piece was originally published in Vox and appears here as part of our Climate Desk collaboration. One morning this week, Hanna Koch was snorkeling in the Florida Keys when she came across a brown...
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Hiorns Tower in West Sussex, England
The old gentry of Sussex sure were keen on a folly. Nothing says "I'm wealthier than you!" better than an ultimately purposeless structure perched up in the hills for everyone to marvel at. Well done...
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Rock of Kalikatsou in Patmos, Greece
The Rock of Kalikatsou is more than a beautiful coastal destination. Located on Petras Beach on the island of Patmos, many say the site carries a strong spiritual energy. The rock is revered as a...
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The Depot Museum in Enterprise, Alabama
Built in 1903, The Depot Museum, also known as the Enterprise Station and the Seaboard Coastline Depot, houses thousands of artifacts donated from families and businesses around the Pea River area of...
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Tetsugakudo Park in Tokyo, Japan
Arguably one of the most unusual public parks in Tokyo, Tetsugakudō Park in Nakano Ward was established by philosopher and occult expert Inoue Enryō, who was also the founder of the Toyo University....
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Payne’s Bar-B-Q in Memphis, Tennessee
Small and squat in a cinderblock square just off Lamar Ave in midtown Memphis, Payne’s Bar-B-Q proves that a simple meal, made with care and attention (and a lot of hickory coals), can buffer itself...
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The Four Way in Memphis, Tennessee
The Four Way, so named for its corner location in South Memphis, has been a cornerstone of the community since Irene and Clint Cleaves opened it in 1946. By the 1960s, The Four Way had become a...
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The Lingering Mystery of the 'Lost Colony' of Roanoke
In late summer of 1937, a man named Louis E. Hammond emerged from the tupelo gums and cypresses of the North Carolina wilderness with a 21-pound piece of quartz, onto which had been inscribed a nearly...
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This Is the Most Detailed Map of Antarctica Ever Made
If you had to, how would you remove 6.5 million cubic miles of ice from Antarctica? In truth, you have two options: On one hand, you could dramatically accelerate the warming of the world to turn...
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Solly’s Hot Tamales in Vicksburg, Mississippi
In the Mississippi Delta, hot tamales are almost as iconic as the blues. They’ve grown up together, intertwined in the region’s culture. Tamales have appeared in songs since the 1920s, and their...
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Red’s in Clarksdale, Mississippi
You aren’t meant to see the building during the day. It hides under old signs, a beaten brick building with a broken awning and wood panels against its door. A few old beer signs and a handwritten...
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‘El Mural Que Debió Ser’ (‘The Mural That Should’ve Been’) in Oaxaca, Mexico
Born in 1902, María Izquierdo became one of Mexico’s most accomplished female artists of the 20th century, with a career similar to Frida Kahlo’s. Both became famous for their canvas paintings, rather...
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Keelung Tower in Keelung City, Taiwan
Keelung, Taiwan’s northern port city, has a long history of connecting Taiwan to the rest of the world. The bright-orange Keelung Tower, completed in 2024, drew inspiration from the cargo ship cranes...
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Sanada no Osada in Kirishima, Japan
Japan is known for its culture surrounding rice, a significant source of nutrition and symbol of life. Naturally enough, Japanese mythology features a number of episodes involving it, and some of such...
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The Tomato Place in Vicksburg, Mississippi
You can’t miss The Tomato Place. It sits proud and chaotic, a collection of ideas and impulses, just south of Vicksburg on Highway 61. Its namesake banner hangs out front, along with signs for boiled...
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