Atlas Obscura - Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations
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The definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders.

Gastro Obscura
Covering the world's most wondrous food and drink.
Ingredients & Condiments

Brisbane Customs House Mushrooms

The basement of a 19th-century government building provides peak conditions for delicious fungi.
Prepared Foods

Mosbolletjies

These buns from South Africa's Cape Winelands are traditionally leavened with the must used to make wine.
Ingredients & Condiments

Jersey Black Butter

Once a year, communities on the tiny island gather to preserve the art of making licorice-flavored apple butter.
Sweets

Polkagris

A small town is home to a beloved candy invented by one of Sweden's first female entrepreneurs.
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Upcoming Events
Fairmount Water Works (1860-1880)
May 20
Philadelphia

Secrets of the Schuylkill & Fairmount Water Works

Experience behind-the-scenes access to a Philadelphia landmark, and learn why "We Are Drinking Coal Dust and Water."
Le Péril Vert: L'Absinthe.
May 20
Longmont, Colorado

Green Fairy or Green Devil?

Enjoy stories and samples of one of history’s most controversial alcohols, absinthe!
Mentalist Jacob Mayfield gazes into his crystal ball
May 23
Chicago, Illinois

Psychic Speakeasy: An Evening of Mind Reading in Room 13

Join us for an intimate evening with a local mentalist inside a cozy, prohibition-themed speakeasy in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.
Main Building (aka Starfleet Academy).
May 25
Van Nuys, California

Sci-Fi Sewage Sanctuary

Tour a water recycling plant better known as Starfleet Academy, and the Japanese garden it irrigates with sewage water.
The headstones of Evergreen Cemetery.
May 25
Los Angeles, California

Exploring Evergreen Cemetery

Get to know one of the city's oldest and most diverse graveyards, tucked away in Boyle Heights.
With sunsets like this, it's easy to see why Edgewater was originally a suburban development.
May 26
Chicago, Illinois

Beaches, Landmarks, and Mansions: The Search for the Suburbs in Edgewater

Learn about the surprisingly suburban history of Edgewater in this brand new summer scavenger hunt.
Financial District Graveyard.
May 29
New York, New York

Grave Robbing 101

Tour relics of the Financial District's cemeteries and learn everything you needed to know as an 18th-century body snatcher.
Sunset at Kingsland Wildflowers.
May 30
Brooklyn, New York

Kingsland Wildflowers at Broadway Stages Sunset Ecology Tour

Tour a thriving rooftop meadow hidden in one of Brooklyn's most heavily industrialized neighborhoods.
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More Stories
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animals

Japan's Only Mascot School Teaches the Art of Cuddly Cuteness

Bringing people joy takes a lot of hard work.
May 16, 2019
Gastro Obscura
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caffeine

The Coolest Coffee Maker of the 19th Century Was a Tabletop Train

Only the very wealthy could afford these delicate contraptions.
May 15, 2019
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fungus

The Race to Cultivate China's Beloved 'Zombie Mushroom'

Used in traditional medicine, caterpillar fungus is pricey, potent, and increasingly scarce.
May 15, 2019
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atom bombs

Found: Glass Fallout From the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

The particles have covered nearby beaches, unnoticed, for nearly 75 years.
May 15, 2019
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