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Atlas Obscura
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The definitive guide to the world's hidden wonders 🗺️
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Do you have burning travel questions? Or are you in need of some expert exploring advice? We want to hear from you!

"Dear Atlas" is our newest community-focused column for travelers everywhere. Read on for details and how to submit your inquiries. We can't wait to hear from you!
Ask Us Your Burning Travel Questions
We want you—yes you!—to send us your queries so our experts can answer them.
www.atlasobscura.com
"Ugly crying" to the extreme.
Appalachia’s Ugliest Cryptid Drowns In Its Own Tears
A new festival looks to draw out and soothe the squonk in all of us.
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April 18, 2025 at 1:25 PM
This humble diner is a paradise for pie lovers.
Elsie’s Plate & Pie
Crawfish hand pies, Natchitoches meat pies, and all manner of other sweet or savory, flaky-crusted pastries abound here.
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April 17, 2025 at 1:25 PM
A perfect place for mysterious and important work.
Bell Labs Holmdel Complex
The real-life ‘Severance’ office building.
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April 16, 2025 at 1:25 PM
In her account, Nellie Bly admitted she never attempted to act insane while inside. She wrote “the more sanely I talked and acted, the crazier I was thought to be.”
The Undercover Woman Who Changed Asylum Tourism Forever
Visitors were drawn to mental institutions out of curiosity and compassion, but they weren’t seeing the full picture—until Nellie Bly revealed it.
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April 15, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Put THAT in your pipe and sculpt it.
Lületaşı Müzesi (Meerschaum Museum)
A museum celebrating the mineral used to make ornate, carved tobacco pipes.
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April 14, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Creative and curious cuisine awaits you, minus the highly contagious disease.
Sanatorium - Wonder Museum Annex
A bizarre, tuberculosis sanatorium-themed café moonlighting as an underground art gallery.
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April 13, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Forget stopping and smelling the roses, it's time to linger and listen to the fungi.
Meet the Man Who Finds Melodies Inside Mushrooms
With his plant-based compositions, biologist-turned-musician Tarun Nayar wants to change how we engage with nature.
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April 12, 2025 at 2:17 PM
This museum celebrates the earliest roots of music around the world.
Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica (International Museum and Library of Music)
Featuring one of the oldest collections of historic musical literature in the world.
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April 11, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Atlas Obscura
Atlas Obscura has named Louise Story as its new chief executive officer, bringing on the former Wall Street Journal and New York Times executive to shepherd the travel brand through its next phase of product and community expansion. adweek.it/4j2GNKz
Atlas Obscura Names Louise Story As Its New CEO
The travel publisher, which generated in $16.7 million in 2024, is also appointing a new board member
adweek.it
April 9, 2025 at 2:07 PM
We'll take beloved game show hosts for $200.
Alex Trebek Mural
A posthumous honor at the iconic game show host's former high school.
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April 10, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Ahsan Manzil has worn pink on Wednesdays (and every other day) since the 1800s. The Pink Palace is a rosy oasis of calm amidst the hustle and bustle of the Buriganga riverfront in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Learn more: buff.ly/hzHh4aN
April 9, 2025 at 2:03 PM
While this iconic continuous route no longer exists in its entirety, there are still plenty of nostalgic stops worth your time.
Dear Atlas: What Parts of Route 66 Are Worth the Drive?
A curated guide to the stretches and stops that truly deserve your time.
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April 8, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Atlas Obscura
Atlas Obscura also has a fun piece on zine archives and queer history, especially trans history.

They also mention the Queer Zine Archive Project, which is making digital repositories! :D

atlasobscura.com/art...
Zine Archives Preserve Trans Survival and Storytelling - Atlas Obscura
Handmade zines filled with advice, stories, and art have long been important to the LGBTQ community. A growing number of archives are preserving this history.
www.atlasobscura.com
April 3, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by Atlas Obscura
If you'd like something of a break from the news...I have a new column up at Atlas Obscura, on the Lost Colony of Roanoke, and how we use unsolved mysteries to, in the words of historian Robert Arner, to transform "unacceptable facts into at least minimally acceptable fictions.”
The Lingering Mystery of the 'Lost Colony' of Roanoke
From historians to horror writers to white nationalists, attempts to explain the settlement's fate reveal a great deal about our own attitudes.
www.atlasobscura.com
April 3, 2025 at 8:09 PM
From historic grand hotels to old-timey confectionaries, these places capture the distinctly charming quality of a Wes Anderson film.
15 Places That Feel Like a Wes Anderson Film
These locations look like they came straight out of the director’s imagination.
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April 7, 2025 at 1:58 PM
"What's your favorite scary movie?"
The Heyday of Horror Hotlines and Why We Still Love to Fear the Phone
A lesser-known subgenre of the 900-number boom allowed callers to connect with Freddy Krueger and chat with zombies.
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April 6, 2025 at 7:56 PM
This quirky cottage is the perfect place to retire a beloved mug.
The House of Mugs
A cabin completely covered in coffee mugs, where visitors are welcome to leave one of their own—if they can find an empty nail.
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April 5, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by Atlas Obscura
NEW: Have you ever wondered what lies beneath all of Antarctica's ice? Well, thanks to 70 years' worth of surveys, you can see! Take a look at this map: it reveals a hidden world of mountains and canyons not seen for 35 million years.

Me @atlasobscura.com www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ant...
This Is the Most Detailed Map of Antarctica Ever Made
Scientists compiled decades of data to reveal the continent hiding beneath millions of miles of ice.
www.atlasobscura.com
April 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM
In March 2024, Deb Manley, a volunteer in Big Bend National Park, Texas, uploaded photos of a small, low-lying plant covered in silvery fuzz to the species identification app iNaturalist. Not only was this the first recorded sighting on the app, it was the first sighting, period: buff.ly/h5dDfgt
April 4, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Join us on a journey through stories and stars alongside expert @goastromo.bsky.social
How Can Myths Help Us Understand the Stars?
Astrophysicist and folklorist Moiya McTier teaches science through storytelling.
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April 3, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Natural wonders are always magical, but these particular caves have outdone themselves.
Marble Caves of Chile Chico
Mother Nature outdoes herself with this stunningly beautiful set of caves carved into marble.
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April 2, 2025 at 1:43 PM
When springtime arrives in the Dutch town of Lisse, so do the vibrant blooms of more than seven million bulbs along Keukenhof Gardens' twisting pathways and serene ponds.⁠

Read the full story of its history here: buff.ly/B5pgnxT
April 1, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Saffron Finches are exceptionally musical birds, though they tend to favor one song in particular: buff.ly/CEmE675
April 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Atlas Obscura
a new polar piece from me in @atlasobscura.com today! featuring the last days of the elderly, beloved antarctic vehicle IVAN THE TERRABUS.... www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ant...
One Last Ride for Antarctica’s 'Ivan the Terra Bus'
After more than 30 years as an iconic fixture of the polar research station, this beloved bus is bidding farewell to the southern continent.
www.atlasobscura.com
March 27, 2025 at 5:17 PM
This beloved breakfast accoutrement is quickly becoming endangered.
For Nova Scotians, Local Maple Syrup Is a Disappearing Pleasure
Sweet with notes of pine and ocean, the unique delight is under threat.
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March 31, 2025 at 1:25 PM