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The Doomed Mouse Utopia That Inspired the 'Rats of NIMH'
Calhoun inside Universe 25, his biggest, baddest mouse utopia. (Photo: Yoichi R. Okamoto/Public Domain)On July 9th, 1968, eight white mice were placed into a strange box at the National Institute of...
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The Commune in Ethiopia Where Feminism is the Law
The village center of Awra Amba. (All Photos: Zac Crellin)Tucked away between the rugged gorges and valleys of the Ethiopian highlands is an egalitarian commune that defies the norms of traditional...
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Food Forests, Fairy Tales, and Other Upcoming Utopia-Themed Events
(Photo: Beacon Food Forest)For Utopia Week at Atlas Obscura, we’ve compiled a list of upcoming themed events taking place around the country. From touring a historic fairy tale village to walking...
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Maryhill Museum and Stonehenge in Goldendale, Washington
"What in Sam Hill?" This odd expression, of which the origins are unclear but date back at least to the 1700s, became associated with a famous road builder and industrialist—whose name actually...
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America's Oldest Lighthouse Has Turned 300
Boston Light, which turns 300 years old today. (Photo: Massachusetts Office of Tourism/CC BY-ND 2.0)Three hundred years ago today, a lighthouse keeper made his way across Boston Harbor to Little...
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How Utopian Living Looked to Modernist Architects
Les Choux de Créteil, designed by Gérard Grandval, France, 1974. (Photo: Dacian Groza/ Courtesy The Tale of Tomorrow© Gestalten 2016)On the outskirts of Paris, there lies what was promise of a better...
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The Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana
The small town of New Harmony, Indiana, which just celebrated its bicentennial, has an extraordinarily utopian history playing host to two different communal societies with two very different visions...
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Ruins at Llano Del Rio in Llano, California
Today the ruined foundations of the Llano Del Rio socialist colony look like the remains of some ancient settlement, but less than a century ago, the site was an optimistic vision of the future.First...
View ArticleFound: One of the Largest Meteorites Ever
Scientists in Argentina have unearthed one of the largest meteorites ever discovered on Earth, and there's no way an alien blob creature is incubating itself inside. According to Science Alert, the...
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If You Want to Live in a Copenhagen Commune, Get Ready for Red Tape
A houseboat in Christiania, Copenhagen. (Photo: Schorle/CC BY-SA 4.0)Vibrant murals, lush greenery, and whimsical eco-buildings line the narrow streets of Christiania, Copenhagen’s infamous squatted...
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Fordlândia in Aveiro, Brazil
During the 1920s Henry Ford was benefiting from a major boom in the automobile industry. His company was selling thousands upon thousands of cars and needed massive amounts of rubber to make tires....
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The Lost Lesbian Bars of New Orleans
The rainbow flag in New Orleans. (Photo: Tony Webster/CC BY-SA 2.0)In the 1970s and ‘80s, hundreds of women in New Orleans, Louisiana found bliss at their local dive bar, swaying to the jukebox amid...
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Utopia College in Eureka, Kansas
In his later years, Massachusetts economist and philanthropist (and noted gravity hater) Roger Babson grew so concerned about the threat of atomic warfare, he founded Utopia College in 1947 to prepare...
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Peeing Boy of Iya Valley in Miyoshi, Japan
The Iya Valley is a majestic, secluded, dramatic area in western Tokushima featuring lofty peaks towering above a serpentine river winding through the valley floor far below. One of the most dangerous...
View ArticleCheck Out This Massive Moon Balloon Terrorizing Streets in China
Huge moon balloon blown away in Fuzhou, E China, as #TyphoonMeranti approaches. Moonless #MidAutumnFestival? pic.twitter.com/5YqrYAuRdk— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) September 14, 2016The annual...
View ArticleThere Are Rivers of Blood Flowing in Bangladesh
@OnlineMagazin🆘‼️🐸 Streets of #Dhaka turned into a blood river, because animal sacrifice & rain, after #EidAlAdha. pic.twitter.com/xyxb8RpXUQ— Onlinemagazin (@OnlineMagazin) September 14, 2016In...
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Lake Los Angeles in Lake Los Angeles, California
Lying about 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles, in the eastern Antelope Valley, is a community named Lake Los Angeles. But Lake Los Angeles has no lake. Instead, the now-nonexistent lake is a remnant of...
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8 Scale Models That Make Nature More Manageable
A scale model of the mighty Mississippi on Mud Island. (Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki/CC BY 3.0)Before computers it was difficult to map out things like geography and topography. Illustrated maps were...
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Joseph Smith's Vermont Hometown Is Being Transformed Into a Modern Mormon Utopia
A view of the proposed community in Sharon, Vermont. (Photo: Courtesy The New Vistas Foundation)About 140 miles northwest of Boston sits the tiny hamlet of Sharon, Vermont. Built along the banks of the...
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Did We Just Witness the Birth of a Black Hole?
A proud parent? (Photo: European Southern Observatory/CC BY 2.0)Mazel tov! Scientist may have just witnessed the birth of a black hole for the first time. According to Science Alert, astronomers have...
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