natashafrost's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
story
pop culture

For Sale: An Eternity With Eleanor Rigby

Just how did she, and other characters from Beatles songs, get their names?
August 21, 2017
story
espionage

The Beetle That Goes Undercover to Steal From Foraging Ants

The high-risk, high-return antics of the parasitic highwayman beetle.
August 21, 2017
Gastro Obscura
story
ice cream

Space Station Astronauts Are High on a Fresh Ice Cream Shipment

It's not the freeze-dried stuff.
August 18, 2017
Gastro Obscura
story
whiskey

The Best Way to Drink Whiskey Is With a Bit of Water, After All

Diluters, consider yourselves absolved.
August 17, 2017
Gastro Obscura
story
happenings

Despite Europe's Egg Scare, a Belgian Town Unites Over a Giant Omelette

Kudos, Knights of the Giant Omelette.
August 16, 2017
story
cities

An Oregon Town Welcomed Its Sister City's Festival Queen—3 Decades Late

Why do our cities have sisters, anyway?
August 15, 2017
story
eclipse madness

How to Predict an Eclipse Without a Computer

Some methods are easier than others.
August 14, 2017
story
bats

A Colony of Bats Has Moved Into a Triceratops

It's put the ancient herbivore in a bit of an awkward position.
August 14, 2017
Gastro Obscura
story
eclipse madness

Did Mooncakes Help the Chinese Overthrow the Mongols?

On the enduring power of myth and metaphor.
August 11, 2017
Gastro Obscura
story
cake

Almost Edible, 106-Year-Old Fruitcake Found in Antarctica

Even the original owners didn't want to eat it.
August 11, 2017
Gastro Obscura
story
detectives

The Premeditated Zucchini Switcheroo

A library mystery.
August 10, 2017
story
ancient cults

Why Some Ancient Cannibalism May Have Been Ritualistic Rather Than Culinary

A mystery to sink your teeth into.
August 10, 2017
story
airplanes

Found: 20,000 World War Two Aircraft Blueprints

They might be used to rebuild and launch a Mosquito plane for the first time since 1949.
August 9, 2017
story
libraries

The Strange, Sad Story of Joe Orton, His Lover, and 72 Stolen Library Books

After being imprisoned for a reading-related prank, the couple never recovered.
August 9, 2017
Gastro Obscura
story
japan

Japanese Scientists Discover the Secret to Un-Meltable Ice Cream

The secret is strawberries.
August 8, 2017
story
eclipse madness

Was the First Eclipse Prediction an Act of Genius, a Brilliant Mistake, or Dumb Luck?

It is hard to predict an eclipse when you think the world is flat.
August 8, 2017
story
egypt

Was an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh a Giant?

Sa-Nakht may be the oldest known case of acromegaly.
August 7, 2017
story
shakespeare

The 19th-Century African-American Actor Who Conquered Europe

And why you might never have heard of Ira Aldridge.
August 7, 2017
story
swearing

Why Americans Are Cursing More Than Ever

Swear more to express yourself as an individual. Everybody's $#*%! doing it!
August 4, 2017
story
fossils

Found: A Praying Mantis Older Than Tyrannosaurus Rex

The fossil is reviewing the secrets of mantis evolution.
August 3, 2017
Gastro Obscura
story
turtles

How America Fell Into—and Out of—Love With Mock Turtle Soup

The calf's head concoction that once claimed American hearts.
August 3, 2017
story
zombies

Exploding Zombie Caterpillars Rain Death From on High

Creepy, yes, but not apocalyptic.
August 2, 2017
story
gambling

One 18th-Century Horse Eclipsed All the Others

The temperamental, spirited, fast steed that changed horse racing forever.
August 2, 2017
story
happenings

An Italian Priest Brought the Virgin Mary to Beachgoers in a Paddle Boat

Literally #blessed.
August 1, 2017