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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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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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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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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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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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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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‘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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Dough Nguyener’s Bakery in Gretna, Louisiana
In Old Gretna on the West Bank, Dough Nguyener’s Bakery takes a modern twist on the quintessential New Orleans bakery, landing somewhere between a classic Vietnamese restaurant, an upscale pastry...
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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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Abe’s Bar-B-Q in Clarksdale, Mississippi
Legends are curious things. Born from the land and carried through generations, they weave myths and alternate histories, inviting us to live within their stories, to be guided by them, and to...
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Smoot’s Grocery Blues Lounge in Natchez, Mississippi
Located in the heart of downtown Natchez, with a view to the Mississippi River from its outdoor patio, Smoot’s Grocery started out life as an actual grocery store in 1939. After a history of closures...
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‘El Mural de la Conquista’ (‘Mural of the Conquest’) in San Bartolo...
Oaxaca stands out for its diverse gastronomy and culture, with one of the country’s highest percentages and diversity of Indigenous populations. These cultures are showcased in varied artesanías...
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Gloucester Road Underground Station Disused Platform in London, England
The Gloucester Road Underground Station has six platforms, with four near the surface and two deeper underground. The surface platforms, built with the main entrance in 1868, have the more notable...
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Rock-Splitting Cherry Tree in Morioka, Japan
In the courtyard of Morioka District Court stands a curious cherry blossom tree, growing out of a crack in a granite boulder. Known as the Ishiwari-zakura (Rock-Splitting Cherry Tree), the tree is...
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Elsie’s Plate & Pie in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
With its location in an unassuming building on a major thoroughfare, Elsie’s looks like an old-school diner and is easy to miss if you’re not paying attention. But turn the corner into their parking...
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Queen Trini Lisa in New Orleans, Louisiana
Sitting snug in a mid-city neighborhood just off Tulane Ave and Carrollton, near the southern terminus of Highway 61, Lisa Nelson, better known as Queen Trini Lisa, is dishing out some of the best...
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