‘Bush the old fire dog died of poison July 5th, 1869. RIP.’

A small token of gratitude from freezing cold journalists who were given a warm haven while covering JFK's inauguration.

A fantastic array of trays and cables once whisked books over to the Capitol at 600 feet per minute.

Hidden away in a modern library are the remains of one of the 18th century's most celebrated wunderkammers.

An overlooked marble is the only surviving in-place 18th century example of the measurement that changed how we define distance.

Known as the "Dodo Manège," this carousel features a herd of animals that have disappeared—or may be gone soon.

An immersive projection art installation uses sound, scale, and light to take visitors inside classic works of art.

This off-limits room in the National Library of France is home to a system of pneumatic tubes, once used to bring books to readers.

Original cabaret handbills, posters, and feline artwork are a purrfect highlight of the Museum of Montmartre.

The subterranean "lake" below the Paris opera house inspired the Phantom of the Opera's lair.

19th century pendulum and a clock restored by a rogue group of guerilla artists.

The very center of Paris is surrounded by a bevy of strange good luck rituals.

The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.

The macabre collection of Jacques Sirgent, an expert scholar on the undead and all of their trappings.

A view-altering observatory at the University of Texas.

The upstairs reading room is packed with millions of rare books, literary manuscripts, and historical treasures.

An exquisite grouping of structures made from 10 tons of invasive saplings.

Free public park and gardens filled with peacocks and peahens.

Home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, estimated at 1.5 million bats.

An archival collection of over 2,200 case studies which includes human brain specimens and tumor specimens.