Author: Ms. R.

Brisbane’s quirky tradition of painting fire hydrants has splashed the town with vibrant color and personality. It all began in the 1970s, when the Brisbane Federated Women’s Club decided that even the fire hydrants deserved a makeover to celebrate the bicentennial. These once-utilitarian objects were transformed into mini masterpieces, each one adorned with playful designs and cheerful faces. As new hydrants popped up, they too were painted, keeping the tradition alive. As the older hydrants were replaced, the town……

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When the area around an old police station in Pimlico was redeveloped into apartments in 2007, the developers commissioned a statue by the Scottish sculptor Alexander Stoddart for the site. He created a rather unusual and confusing depiction of the minor Greek god Priapus. Priapus was a fertility god associated with multiple agricultural activities, particularly gardens, so a statue of him might at first make sense for the proposed location, which is across the street from a large grassy……

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The oldest working camera obscura in the world is located on the grounds of the Dumfries Museum, a local history museum, in Dumfries, Scotland. The main part of the museum has large and varied collections relating to local history from the pre-historic era to recent times but the camera obscura is the star of the show. This device has been in continuous operation since 1836. Both the camera obscura and the museum at Dumfries are part of a closely linked……

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This enormous white temple in the center of Janakpur, Nepal, commemorates the spot where Sita (also known as Janaki or Maithili) was born. In 1657, a golden statue was miraculously found marking the location. According to ancient myth, King Janaka found the baby Sita alone in a field, presumably the daughter of the earth goddess Bhumi. Raised as his own, Sita later became the wife of Lord Rama (an avatar of Vishnu), and her story is chronicled in the……

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Along the road leading from Acqui Terme in the province of Alessandria to Sassello in the province of Savona, a detour into the surrounding countryside leads to Mioglia. It’s a place where time seems to have stopped that welcomes you with the silence of the centuries and is magic, in its wild simplicity.  Though there are other churches and chapels in this small municipality, the Church of Saint Andrew the Apostle (Chiesa di Sant’Andrea Apostolo) is the most evocative…….

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Near the north end of Hlavná, the main street in Prešov, Slovakia, there is a monument to the 49th parallel north. The monument is inscribed in English (presumably the missing inscription on the other side was in Slovak): “The 49N parallel of latitude runs through the town of Prešov. It is known that this parallel—a unique animal kind—is spread from the Arctic pole to the equatorial primeval forests but to observe it in person… well, you are doing it right here, right……

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In June 2020, when many Americans were coping with the COVID-19 pandemic by stress-baking sourdough, Bryan Ford challenged them to think differently about it. In his book New World Sourdough, the Bronx-born, New Orleans-raised baker with Afro-Honduran roots asked readers to go beyond the boules, baguettes, and other European iterations of naturally leavened bread. His second cookbook, Pan y Dulce, which comes out today, is an exhaustive, focused dive into the history of baking throughout Latin America. That means……

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Welcome to Where to Wander, our selection of the best under-the-radar destinations in 2025. To see more surprising sites around the world that have fewer tourists and more locals, check out all of Atlas Obscura’s favorite places to travel this year. Do mine eyes deceive me? In the 10 optical illusions below, the answer is a resounding yes. Several of these sites have been visited by curious onlookers for centuries, as they try to get to the bottom of……

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Welcome to Where to Wander, our selection of the best under-the-radar destinations in 2025. To see more surprising sites around the world that have fewer tourists and more locals, check out all of Atlas Obscura’s favorite places to travel this year. Popular sports may call to mind rackets, bats, and balls—but what about bathtubs, mashed potatoes, and mullets? In Scotland, Chile, and Florida, local communities are redefining sports. From the world’s most remote triathlon (involving bird eggs, a volcano,……

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Welcome to Where to Wander, our selection of the best under-the-radar destinations in 2025. To see more surprising sites around the world that have fewer tourists and more locals, check out all of Atlas Obscura’s favorite places to travel this year. There are some places in the world where you expect to see multiple colors together. Fields of wildflowers, for example, or the early stages of autumn. Otherwise, many of us expect nature to play by certain rules, where……

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