Sarah Laskow's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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fires

A California Wildfire Whirled Into a 'Fire Tornado'

Wind speeds were as strong as 143 miles per hour.
August 3, 2018
Gastro Obscura
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blueberries

The Disturbing Fate of a Planet Made of Blueberries

You'll never look at blueberry jam the same way again.
August 2, 2018
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libraries

Found: The Oldest Public Library in Germany

Niches in the walls hinted at the building's past.
August 2, 2018
Gastro Obscura
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pickles

Cool, There's Water on Mars. But Does It Make Good Pickles?

What would happen if briny Martian liquid met an Earthling cucumber?
August 1, 2018
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military history

Found: A Cache of 18th-Century Rockets in India

One of the fiercest opponents of British colonialists had rockets unlike any his enemies had seen.
August 1, 2018
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ice

Siberian Worms Survived More Than 30,000 Years Stuck in Permafrost

The worms, all female, thawed out and started eating.
July 30, 2018
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chemicals

Why Fire Retardant Is Colored Bright Red

A California fire has closed down Yosemite National Park.
July 26, 2018
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landmarks week

Why Build Your Railroad Around a Castle When You Can Just Go Through It?

Runaway railway expansion helped inspire Britain's preservationist movement.
July 26, 2018
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mars

Found: Liquid Water on Mars

It's probably about five times as briny as the Dead Sea.
July 25, 2018
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surgery

Railyards Were Once So Dangerous They Needed Their Own Railway Surgeons

Feet, hands, and lives were at risk.
July 25, 2018
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landmarks week

Charting the Succession of the 'True Church' Through History

Landmark Baptists believed that an unbroken chain of Christians kept alive the true teachings of the New Testament.
July 24, 2018
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cryptids

Found: One Very Big Foot

Paleontologists describe the largest dinosaur footprint ever found.
July 24, 2018
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protest

How the Mesmerizing 'Sibiu Eyes' Became a Protest Symbol in Romania

The eerie windows of one Romanian town are watching for political corruption.
July 20, 2018
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treasure

Found: A Newly Discovered Shipwreck, Rumored to Be Full of Gold

In 1905, the Dmitri Donskoi sank off the coast of a South Korean island.
July 19, 2018
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secret society

Why Some Gravestones Are Shaped Like Tree Stumps

When nature and secret societies get together.
July 17, 2018
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disease

One of New Zealand's Most Majestic Trees Is in Danger

Tāne Mahuta is one of the oldest kauri trees in the world.
July 17, 2018
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volcanoes

A Lava Island Comes Into Being, For a Few Days

Hawaii's ongoing eruption created new land.
July 16, 2018
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roman

A 2,000-Year-Old Mystery Papyrus Reveals Its Secrets

For centuries, no one could read it.
July 13, 2018
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museums

Freud Gave Special Signet Rings to a 'Secret Society' of His Students

The seals depict Greek gods and—surprise, surprise—erotic scenes.
July 13, 2018
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hidden

The Hidden Cropmarks of Wales, Revealed by a Drought

These unmistakable squares and circles are the remnants of settlements from as far back as the Bronze Age.
July 11, 2018
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whales

Rediscovering the Forgotten Whales of the Mediterranean Sea

Researchers uncovered evidence of the cetaceans at sites connected to the Roman fish-processing industry.
July 11, 2018
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glaciers

See a Giant Iceberg Fall Into the Sea

Scientists filmed the break-up of a Greenland glacier.
July 9, 2018
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archive

The Dangers of Train Yards, Through the Eyes of Railroad Employees

A collection of photos from the 1960s tried to show why locomotives need two people in the cab.
July 3, 2018
Gastro Obscura
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soda

Seattle's Mystery Soda Machine Has Gone Missing

Will it ever return?
July 2, 2018