Stories - Atlas Obscura

Francisco Hernandez: The Coolest Explorer You've Never Heard Of

FOUND: An iPhone That Fell 9,300 Feet And Works Just Fine

The Brutal Beauty of Concrete Buildings

The Secrets of America's Best Rest Stop: Free Ice Water, Donuts, the Cutest Jackalopes in Town

world's smallest

7 of America's Smallest Civic Institutions

For Many Islands, Tourism Means Too Much Trash. Is Cuba Next?

Inside Togo's Thriving Voodoo Fetish Market

space exploration

FOUND: Aurorae 1 Million Times Brighter Than Any on Earth

100 Wonders: Model Behavior

places you can no longer go

Places You Can No Longer Go: The Collect Pond

Where Bowling Meets Golf on a Country Road in West Virginia

New Yorkers Have Been Illicitly Cracking Open Fire Hydrants For Centuries

Cities Pass Cat Curfews; Cats Keep Doing Whatever They Want

Meet the World’s Most Controversial Inflatable Yellow Duck

FOUND: A 16-Year-Old Discovered a 560,000-Year-Old Human Tooth

illinois obscura society

The Reign of King Neptune, The Navy's $250 Million Pig

Inside the 185-Year-Old Portuguese Hospital for Dolls

Could This Surreal Terracotta House Be the World's Largest Piece of Pottery?