Author: Ms. R.

Located in the heart of the Kimberley region in Western Australia, Bamboo Creek Tin Mine is a historical mining site that offers a glimpse into the region’s rich mining heritage. The site, now abandoned, stands as a testament to the tin mining activities that once flourished in the area. It can be found within Litchfield National Park.  Bamboo Creek Tin Mine was established in the late 19th century during the tin mining boom in Australia. Tin mining in the……

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Is the tomb of Vlad the Impaler, the basis for Bram Stoker’s character Dracula, actually located in the cloister of a 13th-century church in the center of Naples? Some researchers believe so, and the church that hosts the tomb, Santa Maria di Nova, happily promotes the connection. Vlad III was Prince of Wallachia between 1448 and 1476, a time during which legends of his cruelty earned him the nickname “Vlad the Impaler.” In the fall of 1476, Vlad’s army was……

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It all started on June 15, 2024, when an Albanian soccer fan at the UEFA European Championship tournament in Germany mocked a rival Italian fan by committing an unspeakable cultural crime: breaking spaghetti in half. In a video that went viral, the Italian fan falls to his knees in mock despair as shards of dried noodles rain from the heavens. Then on June 17, Austrian fans prepared for their match against France by ceremonially smashing baguettes. It was far……

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In the city of Hiratsuka, an unusual legend is told and an unassuming mound in the corner of a cemetery attests to its apparent credibility. According to the story, the incident took place during the Kounomachi, an annual festival jointly rub by five major shrines in the former Sagami Province region. Young men from two of the shrines, Samukawa Jinja and Hiratsuka Hachiman-gū, got into a heated argument and a fight broke out, which ended with the latter men……

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Each week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (September 17, 2024). Like most dump sites, the Boragaon landfill in Guwahati, Assam, is an overwhelming place, made up of ever-shifting piles of colorful trash. Unlike most dump sites, the Boragaon is overseen by a platoon of enormous, Muppet-like endangered storks known as greater adjutants. Nearly 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, with striking ice-blue eyes……

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The quaint downtown of Marlborough, New Hampshire boasts little more than a pizza joint, hardware store, and gas station. For this reason, it seems like an unlikely place to see a colorfully painted storefront and a whimsical, three-foot long, crochet caterpillar on the sidewalk.  To residents of Marlborough and surrounding towns, the Caterpillar Lab is a unique source of pride and curiosity. Although its creator, Sam Jaffe, harbored a lifelong interest in caterpillars, the lab first began to take……

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The story of a glass company named after the town of Fostoria, Ohio, is told almost 300 miles away in Moundsville, West Virginia. The company was founded in 1887 near the town of Fostoria, Ohio, to take advantage of a newly discovered natural gas field. But after just four years, the gas was nearly tapped out, and the company had to look for a new location to get their gas. In 1891, the company moved to Morgantown, West Virginia,……

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In an empty lot next to the O2 arena stands this peculiar sight. The upside-down pylon stands 35 metres tall and was originally installed as part of the London Design Festival in 2015. Its placement provides a perfect spot for those traveling by to ponder its existence—whether it be from the Docklands Light Railway, boat, cable car, or plane.  The sculptor, Alex Chinneck, has a penchant for turning the ordinary somewhat extraordinary. His other works include a slumping façade……

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Legend has it that a mighty tomahawk once brought down a fearful giant, turning it to stone and scattering its pieces near Horsetooth Reservoir. Now if you look carefully at the rock climbing structures by Spring Canyon Park’s playground, you’ll notice a nose, a mouth, and an eye sunken into the ground in one section, and nearby a hand (complete with fingerprints) rises out of the ground. The giant’s ghastly foot can be found toes-out embedded in the earth……

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Kayak through the flooded remains of this abandoned limestone mine. The water stays about 50 degrees Fahrenheit year-round as does the cave overall. You can see fossils embedded in the walls and ceiling and living creatures too, mostly trout and bats. The caves are equipped with LED lights that make this a glow-in-the-dark experience. Transparent kayak and paddleboards are available that allow you to see down into the water below….

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