Sarah Laskow's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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furniture

What Happened to the First Chair Grown From Living Trees?

On the hunt for a pioneering piece of furniture.
February 6, 2018
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mushrooms

Washington Could Get an Official State Mushroom

A bill would enshrine American matsutake as one of a few fungal symbols in the U.S.
February 5, 2018
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neon

See the Vintage Neon Signs of Las Vegas, Reanimated

These beacons are broken, and yet it's now possible to see what they once would have looked like.
February 2, 2018
Gastro Obscura
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wishlist

Wishlist: A Pan for Making Danish Pancake Puffs

Smother your troubles in pancake puffs.
February 1, 2018
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science

Eastern China Is a 'Museum' of Flowering Plants

New research digs into the evolutionary history of these plants and finds an impressive diversity across the country.
January 31, 2018
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deep time

Northern Australia Was Once Smushed Up Against North America

And other strange facts of supercontinent history.
January 26, 2018
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evolution

Found: A 177,000-Year-Old Jawbone, the Oldest Evidence of Humans Outside Africa

The story of human migration is undergoing a dramatic revision.
January 25, 2018
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cities

Give Trees Some Space

Even city trees need some boundaries.
January 24, 2018
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fascism

The Novel That Imagined a Nazi Future, Before WWII Even Began

In the long-forgotten "Swastika Night," Hitler is a god, women are subhuman, and love is dead.
January 24, 2018
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manuscripts

The Mystery Manuscript Found in a Used Copy of 'Alice in Wonderland'

When a strange document appeared in her shop, an Australian bookseller turned detective.
January 23, 2018
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protest

Why a Radical 1970s Science Group Is More Relevant Than Ever

A second life for an organization of scientists who questioned how their work was being used.
January 22, 2018
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map monday

These Vibrant Maps Reveal the World's Hidden Geographies

One man's journey from GIS specialist to artist.
January 22, 2018
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floods

A Burst Pipe Ruined Original Stephen King Manuscripts

Gerald Winters's bookstore in Bangor, Maine, specializes in rare editions and type-written drafts.
January 18, 2018
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flags

The Museum That Keeps Now-Obscure Confederate Flags

Beyond the "Southern Cross," there are dozens of symbols of the Confederacy.
January 17, 2018
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skulls

This Australian Art Museum Is Filled With Giant Skulls

Sculptor Ron Mueck's work echoes the use of skulls in Western art history.
January 16, 2018
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jewels

The Oldest Object in England's Crown Jewels Is a Spoon

Most of the coronation regalia were destroyed in the 17th century, but the anointing spoon survived.
January 15, 2018
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restaurants

Medieval Times Is Now Ruled by a Queen

Usually medieval queens were regents, but this fictional character rules independently.
January 12, 2018
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arctic circle

The Unlikely Survival of Bees in the Arctic

A new species has been identified in an archipelago once used for Soviet nuclear testing.
January 11, 2018
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cities

Here's How Long It Takes to Reach a City From Every Place on Earth

A new map measures accessibility to the world's cities.
January 10, 2018
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walls

The British Once Built a 1,100-Mile Hedge Through the Middle of India

This quixotic colonial barrier was meant to enforce taxes.
January 9, 2018
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film

Rescuing the Letterpress Art Made for Movie Ads

A documentary captures two Nebraskans' work to preserve a unique collection.
January 8, 2018
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space

How Space Stations Die

In March, China's first space station is going to fall to Earth in a fiery ball.
January 5, 2018
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weather

Why We Call Winter Storms 'Weather Bombs'

The "bomb cyclone" is a linguistic specter from the 1940s that's gaining power in 2018.
January 3, 2018
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ice

It's Ice Ball Season

Winter cold means sightings of strange spheres on lake shores.
January 2, 2018