Stories - Atlas Obscura

Watch Bacteria Jiggle, Pulse, and Shine to a Party Rock Anthem

These beautiful bacteria may be able to help scientists detect and treat cancer.

August 15, 2016

Watch This Creepy Arm Machine Stuck in an Endless Cycle of Wimpy High Fives

The most anti-climactic high-five ever.

August 11, 2016

Watch Women Face Off in an Intense 1927 Tug of War Competition

The one-time Olympic sport can get very fierce.

Watch This Beautiful, Chaotic Bat Ballet

Scientists have found that bats collide into each other more often than they thought.

Watch More Than 200 Rubik's Cubes Turn Into Pokémon Art

It's like catching Pokémon but in an even more retro way.

Watch This Hawk Investigate A Weather Camera

Yes Mr. Hawk, you're right to complain about the heat.

Watch a Mini Volcano Simulator Produce an Electrical Storm

Scientists are trying to better understand the phenomenon to warn air traffic control.

Watch These Floppy Drives Play a Famous Power Metal Song

It's like a comeback tour for an artist that wasn't a musician in the first place.

Take a Soothing Swim in a Lake Swarming With Golden Jellyfish

The marine environment of the famous Jellyfish Lake is a sanctuary for these majestic drifting creatures.

Watch This Pair of Dancers Tango Underwater

Dancing is better down where it's wetter.

Watch Amazing Tiny Sea Creatures Light Up and Dance

Who knew plankton could be so mesmerizing?

Watch a Terrifying Stargazer Fish Ambush its Prey to Upbeat Jazz

These things don't mess around.

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

They're not the fastest pair there ever was.

Watch These Mesmerizing Air Bubbles Flow Under Frozen Streams

It's the most relaxing five minutes ever.

Watch this Gob of Clay Turn into a Human Hand

Sculptor Philippe Faraut makes a mighty fine mitt.

An Up-Close and Personal Look at the World's Largest Model Railroad

A new short film captures the nuanced charm of a mesmerizing masterwork.

100 Wonders: The Bristlecone Pines

The world's oldest living trees have been growing in Nevada for more than 5,000 years.

Watch Slime Molds Creep and Crawl Like Alien Slugs

A Princeton biologist's clips look like footage taken from a 1950s science-fiction movie.