Stories - Atlas Obscura

The Scientist Who Thinks He Found Proof of a Parallel Dimension

Not sci-fi, just science.

At the First GOP Convention, the Party Chose a Rich Mutineer as Their Candidate

John C. Frémont wanted to be governor of California a little too badly.

Iconic Punk Rocker Defaces the British Library's Punk Rock Exhibit

Punk feminist Viv Albertine took on the exhibit's erasure of female musicians in the most metal way possible.

Decoding the 2016 Republican National Convention Seating Chart

The seating arrangements this year focus more on past primaries than the upcoming general election.

american presidents

A History of Embarrassing Presidential Campaign Logos

Good design and presidential politics do not often meet.

Here are the CIA's Possible Security Guidelines For Pokémon Go

Playing America's favorite game without compromising America's OPSEC.

Watch a Man Walk His Pet Tortoise Around the Streets of Tokyo

They're not the fastest pair there ever was.

The Eternal Mystery of How This Bear Locked Itself Inside of a Car

There were no broken car windows.

Russia Is Trying to Build a Bomber That Can Fire Nukes from Space

It would be illegal, of course.

Victorians Drank Soda Out Of Monstrous Gilded Machines

The 19th century saw a soda fountain arms race.

The Incredible Complications of Living Atop the U.S.-Canada Border

The tough, restricted lives of the dozen people whose homes lie in both Maine and Quebec.

Meet the Snake-Hatted Woman and Elastic Skin Man of the Harvard Theatre Collection

One of the largest performing arts collections in the world also has some of the most unusual visuals.

Why Pokémon Go Players Are Going to Keep Finding Dead Bodies

It happens every day.

If You Love Pokémon Go, Thank This 15-Year-Old Alternate Reality Game

Replaying The Beast, the groundbreaking game from the movie A.I.

fleeting wonders

91-Year-Old Woman at Museum Fills In Crossword-Themed Artwork

What is art, anyway?

Why Farming Was Probably Invented Many Times by Independent Humans

abandoned insane asylums

8 Spooky New York Places That Should Be in the New Ghostbusters Movie

There's something strange in these neighborhoods.

The Emperor of Japan is Thinking of Abdicating

Akihito has reigned for over 27 years.