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An 1870 painting by Jean-Paul Laurens depicts the infamous "Cadaver Synod," when a papal corpse was put on trial.
conspiracy theories

Atlas Obscura’s Juiciest Pope Drama

Lost body parts, dirty paintings, and an ill-fated elephant.
Andrew Coletti January 30, 2025
The author's mother found the letters of a missing man.
banks

Letters Hidden in My Family’s Attic Reveal a 1910s Bank Con in Key West

The con artist was either a very unlucky man or a trickster who got away with it all.
Asia London Palomba January 3, 2025
Contract bridge is known to have a dedicated, sometimes intense, community that enforces its codes of conduct.
games

How the Pandemic Brought Cheating to the World of Competitive Bridge

The game's culture cares deeply about its codes of conduct, but online play rewrote the rules.
Adrienne Raphel February 1, 2024
If not for the Yazoo Land Scandal, Greater Georgia might have encompassed most or all of the current states of Mississippi and Alabama.
maps

The Little-Known Land Fraud That Changed American History

Without this now-obscure land investment scheme, the Yazoo Land Affair, Georgia might have been a "super state."
Frank Jacobs August 25, 2023
Utrera, Spain

El Palmar de Troya

The cathedral of a controversial, conservative, schismatic sect that declared the Catholic Church heretical and founded its own succession of popes.
“The moment I discover a man’s a fool I let him drop,” Bertha Heyman once said.
women

The Prussian Grifter Who Swindled Her Way to Her Own One-Woman Show

Bertha Heyman lived a life in and out of jail and on and off the stage.
Sabrina Imbler May 10, 2019
Mary Baker pretended to be a princess and ended up selling leeches.
crime

The English Servant Girl Who Pretended to Be an Exotic Island Princess

Mary Baker, better known as Princess Caraboo, convinced an entire town she was eccentric royalty.
Sabrina Imbler May 9, 2019
Thérèse Humbert concocted some very convoluted schemes.
castles

The Parisian Fraudster With Complicated Tales of Imaginary Millionaires

Thérèse Humbert played French bankers like fiddles to live in the lap of luxury.
Sabrina Imbler May 8, 2019
Barbara Erni's trunk didn't hold valuables, but it did hold a tiny man or a large child.
women

The Liechtensteinian Lady Burglar and Her Mysterious Trunk

Barbara Erni stole from countless inns thanks to a chest with a secret hidden within.
Sabrina Imbler May 6, 2019
Luther Burbank (and his hat) among the cacti.
food

The Thorny Tale of America's Favorite Botanist and His Spineless Cacti

Luther Burbank dreamed of deserts filled with cow food.
Anne Ewbank April 24, 2019
Fresh gelato awaits.
food

When Family-Owned Gelato Shops in Italy Almost Went Extinct

Did Big Gelato try to wipe out artisanal stores in the 1950s?
Vicky Hallett April 23, 2018
gardens

If You Had to Have a Scandal in 2017, Why Not Make It a Charming One?

The highlights of the lowlights.
Natasha Frost December 19, 2017
One of Frank Leslie's damning illustrations, depicting the view of the 16th Street cow stable yard.
food

The 19th-Century Swill Milk Scandal That Poisoned Infants With Whiskey Runoff

Vendors hawked the swill as "Pure Country Milk."
Tyler Moss November 27, 2017
Los Angeles, California

King George Hotel

Where a great scandal unfolded with a famous female revivalist at its center.