Author: Ms. R.

Living at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains invites a keen interest in the natural environment. And while Denver is known for attracting eco-conscious travelers and residents, it holds a similar draw for sustainability-focused restaurateurs. Throughout the city, dozens of chefs, brewers, sommeliers, and urban farmers are reimagining our food systems, making them more local, more ethical, and more sustainable than ever. From Root Down, which is 100% wind-powered and constructed from upcycled materials, to Farm & Market, which……

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During the peak of summer off the coast of Maine, a female lobster approaches the den of a potential mate. Male lobsters are aggressive, so she’s whipped up a love potion to win him over. The persuasive concoction is her own pee, full of seductive and disarming pheromones, which springs from a surprising source. “I hate to tell this to people who love to eat lobster,” says Ellen Prager, marine scientist and author of Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime:……

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The origins of Germany’s Maultaschen are deliciously devious. Legend has it that, in the late Middle Ages, a lay brother named Jakob invented the stuffed pasta dumplings at the Maulbronn Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site founded in 1147 by Cistercian monks in southwest Germany. One direct translation of Maultaschen is “mouth pockets,” though “Maul” could just as easily refer to Maulbronn. Maultaschen are usually square dumplings (though sometimes they’re rolled) and can be fried in a pan or……

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Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit the Stone of Destiny, a giant rock that has supposedly been used in the coronation of every English monarch since the 1300s. But is it authentic? Or could the real one be in this Scottish bar? We weigh the evidence. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15……

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Many years ago, Loren Pankratz got a call from a rare book dealer. The man was at the end of his career, he told Pankratz, and had a special book to sell. It had been passed down from his grandfather, and perhaps only three other copies existed in the world. He thought Pankratz, a former professor of psychology in Oregon who collects books on cons and frauds, might be interested. Pankratz bought the book, which was in German, and……

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Just off the Thames in Southwest London, a prehistoric type of South African palm tree has been living for almost two centuries. Growing an inch a year, today it’s the height of a double-decker bus and slopes drunkenly 16 feet to the side. It needs four metal crutches to keep from falling over altogether—for an expat at least 249 years old, not bad. The tree, an Eastern Cape giant cycad, is kept in the Palm House at the Royal……

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