whirlingzen's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Ushiku, Japan

Ushiku Daibutsu: The Great Buddha of Ushiku

The third-tallest statue in the world depicts the "Buddha of Infinite Light," complete with observation deck in his chest.
Kyonan, Japan

Nihonji Daibutsu: The Great Buddha of Nihonji

This giant seated Bhudda of Healing dates to the 1780s.
Nara, Japan

Tōdai-ji Daibutsuden (The Great Buddha Hall)

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.
Cocullo, Italy

Santa Maria delle Grazie

Host to the annual Festival of the Snakes.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Loretto Chapel

Wedding chapel's mysterious spiral staircase said to be miraculously constructed.
Rome, Italy

Papal Hearts at Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi

This former Roman Catholic Church still contains the embalmed hearts and organs of 22 popes.
Chimayo, New Mexico

El Santuario de Chimayo

This popular pilgrimage site offers a hole filled with holy healing dirt.
St. Augustine, Florida

St. Photios National Greek Orthodox Shrine

Location of a reliquary containing bone fragments of 18 saints.
Krakow, Poland

The Bones of the Wawel Dragon

Real bones which are said to have belonged to a Polish dragon.
Lawton, Oklahoma

Fort Sill

Final resting place of Geronimo, Quanah Parker, and the first atomic gun ever fired.
Cache, Oklahoma

Holy City of the Wichitas

This little slice of old Jerusalem in Oklahoma is the evolution of a 90 year old passion play.
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Last Shell Oil Clamshell Station

This bright yellow relic is the final survivor of a short burst of seashell-shaped petrol pumps.
Mount Airy, North Carolina

The Grave of Chang and Eng Bunker

This North Carolina grave is the final resting place of the world's most famous conjoined twins.
Tallahassee, Florida

Grave of Elizabeth Budd-Graham

This historic headstone is said to mark the final resting place of a doubly-dead white witch.
Épila, Spain

Basanta - The House of God

The quirky - and private - constructions of a secluded artist depict the house of God.
Chiang Rai, Thailand

Wat Rong Khun

A white Buddhist temple with a golden restroom.
Beijing, China

Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum / Xiannongtan (Temple of Agriculture)

An ancient Chinese temple where even the emperor dressed like a farmer in the name of the harvest.
Belize

The Crystal Maiden of the Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave

Sparkling, calcite-covered skeletons of children who may have been sacrificed to appease an angry god.
South Sikkim, India

Tashiding Monastery

Miraculous vase predicts the future at this Tibetan Buddhist site in the Himalayas.
Takaoka, Japan

Takaoka Daibutsu: The Great Buddha of Takaoka

This giant bronze Buddha, the third largest in Japan, is the last in an ill-fated series of statues.
Myanmar (Burma)

Thanboddhay Pagoda

Luxurious devotion and 500,000 images of Buddha in Myanmar.
Khlong Mai, Thailand

Wat Samphran Temple

An enormous dragon scales the walls of this 17-story temple.
Bailey, Colorado

Coney Island Hot Dog Stand

This hot dog-shaped diner has moved all around Colorado, never been to New York.
Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Banphasawan

From dragonfruit to mangoes to durian this Thailand resort allows guests to stay inside all manner of giant fruit.