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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 Secrets Are Behind the Magic of Miniatures? AO Wants to Know.
AO Wants to Know is an ongoing interview series where we ask experts in extraordinary subjects to share their knowledge with us. The kitchen is cluttered in every possible way. The sink is piled with...
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Say Hello to Nature’s Fire Brigade
This story was originally published in bioGraphic and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Like a chicken nugget in an air fryer, our planet is getting hotter and drier all the...
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What Kinds of Pasta Are There in India?
This article is adapted from the April 5, 2025, edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here. “It's a very interesting question to ask, right? How do you define a...
View ArticleDear Atlas: What’s the Best Way to Travel Solo at 60?
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, What advice do...
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Raising a Ghost Town From the Dead
Exploring the remnants of the former Brownsville General Hospital was a terrifying experience, even for me. It wasn't just that the building was creepy, although it certainly was: full of long rooms...
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This Italian Town Really, Really Likes Ocarinas
For thousands of years, humans across the world have played music using some version of the ocarina, a rounded wind instrument that produces a flute-like sound. In ancient China, ocarina-like...
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A Surprising New Tail From Jurassic China
One hundred and fifty million years ago, the swamps of Fujian province in southeastern China teemed with life. Fossils reveal a rich Jurassic ecosystem dubbed the Zhenghe Fauna, where turtles, frogs,...
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Jump Shots at 6,000 Feet: Inside Oaxaca's Love of Hoops
“A-TE-PEC! A-TE-PEC! A-TE-PEC!” It was loud enough in the gymnasium to make one’s eardrums hurt. Fans screamed from the rafters, many decked out in the red and white colors representing the town of San...
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Titanic's Legacy: Our Favorite Reads
Just before midnight on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg. What happened next should be a familiar story by now: The iceberg ripped open the hull of the ship’s starboard side, flooding...
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Cracking Open Evolution’s Black Box on 'Lizard Island'
This story was originally published on The Conversation. It appears here under a Creative Commons license. Every morning in Miami, our fieldwork begins the same way. Fresh Cuban coffee and...
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A Guide to the Gingers of the World
This article is adapted from the April 16, 2025, edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here. You might be surprised to learn that the edible portion of ginger is not...
View ArticleDear Atlas: Can You Recommend Haunted Accommodations for Paranormal Enthusiasts?
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, My wife and I...
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Winding Tower of Shime Coal Mine in Shime, Japan
Japan is home to some of the world’s coolest abandoned places, many industrial in origin, much loved and enjoyed by dedicated enthusiasts. One of the lesser-known fan favorites is the Winding Tower of...
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Wrightstown Schoolhouse in Newtown, Pennsylvania
The Wrightstown Octagonal Schoolhouse, also known as the Penns Park Octagonal School House or the Eight-Square School House, was one of 10 or so octagonal schoolhouses in Bucks County, Pennsylvania,...
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Stevie Ray Vaughan Statue in Austin, Texas
Even though Austin is a city with a rich music history, only two statues of musicians have ever been erected there. One depicts Willie Nelson—and the other, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Stevie Ray Vaughan was...
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Pont de Montiberri in Lleida, Spain
Pont de Montiberri is a submerged historical bridge in the Alta Ribagorça region, near Pont de Suert in Catalonia, Spain. It is an excellent example of medieval architecture, with a single...
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The Spirit of Jarrow in Jarrow, England
On October 5, 1936, 200 men from Jarrow in Northumberland, England, began a protest march to Parliament to call for economic assistance in northeast England. Taking place during an economic...
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Chapelle Saint-Mort in Ohey, Belgium
At the edge of the Belgian towns of Haillot and Coutisse is a small, medieval church called Chappelle Saint-Mort, so-named for a legendary local saint. Translated to "Saint Dead," legend holds that...
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Wufeng Mushroom Museum in Taichung City, Taiwan
Wufeng, along with neighboring townships such as Xinshe in Taichung, is the heartland of mushroom cultivation in Taiwan, playing a vital role in the local economy. The region is known for its...
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The Russian Cemetery in Allinge in Allinge, Denmark
Tucked away on a Danish island in the Baltic Sea is a small cemetery holding an often overlooked history. Located a stone’s throw from the picturesque yellow church in the coastal village of Allinge...
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Church of the Saintes Maries de la Mer in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is usually just another Mediterranean beach resort town which doubles as the "capital" of the Camargue wetlands region. For two days in May, however, it is a meeting point for...
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Cabinet of Curiosities at the University of Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal
With no explanatory captions to be found, the Cabinet of Curiosities at the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra artfully rearranges a 700-year-old museum collection. Inspired by 18th-century...
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Uğur Mumcu Park in Eskişehir, Turkey
Just off of Atatürk Boulevard, one of the city of Eskişehir's main thoroughfares, lies a tidy park dedicated to Uğur Mumcu, an investigative journalist who was killed in a car bombing outside his...
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Baatara Gorge Waterfall in Chaoui, Lebanon
Every spring and summer, a Jurassic limestone cave in the Mount Lebanon range turns into a 800-foot waterfall. The Baatara Gorge Waterfall drops through the Three Bridges Chasm. At the bottom, the...
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