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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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What Does a Galaxy Taste Like?
This article is adapted from the March 22, 2025 edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here. In 2017, Starbucks released the Unicorn Frappuccino for four days only....
View ArticleDear Atlas: How Do I Safely Explore Abandoned Places?
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, I want to...
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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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20 Cola Museum in Kragujevac, Serbia
In the central Serbian city of Kragujevac, a pop culture and bicycle museum, the 20 Cola Museum or Muzej Bicikala i Pop Kulture “20 Cola,” takes visitors back to a time when bicycles were a beloved...
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Tamaghza El Gdima (Abandoned Village of Tamerza) in Tamaqzah, Tunisia
In the barren mountains of southern Tunisia, at the gates of the Sahara desert, it rarely rains. When the rains do come, they can quickly turn to torrential downpours. In 1969, a flood lasted 22 days,...
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Benjamin Franklin Museum and Court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia is home to many important artifacts from American history. Many visitors come to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, overlooking...
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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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Suzuhiro Kamaboko Museum in Odawara, Japan
Fishcake is a modest but almost essential ingredient in Japanese culture, known all the way since the Middle Ages. It can be found in many varieties such as chikuwa, datemaki, naruto, crab sticks, and...
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Fannin Battleground State Historic Site in Goliad, Texas
In the dark days after the fall of the Alamo, on March 6, 1836, James Fannin, commander of the Texian garrison at Goliad, was frozen with indecision. He had fortified the mission grounds of La Bahia,...
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House of Soviets in Kaliningrad, Russia
Built in 1960 to be the administrative centre of the new state, this strange, Brutalist behemoth has never been occupied due to structural issues. The interior remains unfinished and unusable. In...
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Seacliff Asylum Ruins in Seacliff, New Zealand
Among the greenery of Truby King Park sit the remains of a failed asylum. Considered the largest building in New Zealand when it was built in the late 19th century, Seacliff "Lunatic" Asylum was...
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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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