Author: Ms. R.

Edsbyverken is a key producer of wooden furniture today, and manufactured skis from 1899 to 1999. To honor this tradition, replicas of these important exports now stand next to the entrance to the town. At 10 times the size of their normal counterparts, these imposing pieces of athletic equipment bear the distinction of being the largest skis in the world. Next to the skis is a chair measuring 7.6 meters in height. Although chairs larger than that exist elsewhere……

Read More

Jutting out into the waters of Lake Michigan just south of the Loop is Northerly Island Park, which is home to two curious buildings that harken back to the artificial peninsula’s history. Home to Chicago‘s Meigs Field from 1948 to 2003, the spot that’s now the park was originally designed as such, in Daniel Burnham’s grand plan for Chicago. However the proximity to the offices of the Loop proved enticing to city planners and executives looking for hassle-free travel,……

Read More

Nestled in the heart of Rockford amongst the lively bustle of a rapidly developing downtown area lies the freshly lacquered doors of Scavenged Parts Antiques & Oddities. Jointly owned by oddities circuit veterans Sarah Thistle and Tim Prince, this newly opened location is the culmination of a decade-long journey into refining and perfecting their niche.  Speaking more or less to the “antiques” of Scavenged Parts is Sarah Thistle, whose time-tempered antiquarian venture has resulted in a selective yet extensive……

Read More

Talkeetna, a small town of around 1,000 people, is a base for exploring Denali, North America’s highest peak, and may have been the inspiration for the fictional town Cicely in the 1990s television show Northern Exposure. It is best known, though, for electing a cat as mayor.  On the main street in Talkeetna, called K’dalkitnu in the Indigenous language Dena’ina, is Nagley’s, a general store whose history stretches back to Alaska’s gold rush era. Open since 1921, it started……

Read More

Doris Miller joined the United States Navy when segregation forced Black soldiers into non-combat roles, Miller was a cook. Miller was on board the battleship West Virginia on December 7, 1941, when the attack on Pearl Harbor began.  Despite no prior training, Miller stepped up to an anti-aircraft gun and used it on the enemy, officially taking down two Japanese planes. During the same attack, Miller helped carry wounded sailors to safety. Miller was awarded the Navy Cross in 1942……

Read More

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit Houston, where a gigantic underground chamber that used to be a water source is now an enchanting—and echo-filled—part of the city’s park system. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people……

Read More

Swords encrusted with jewels and inlaid with gold, breastplates sporting chiseled abs, impressive Greek helmets oxidized by time to an otherworldly green. These are just a few of the remarkable Greek and Roman artifacts making up the largest private collection of ancient arms and armor in the world. But one item stands out among the rest: The Guttmann Mouse Helmet, an incredibly well preserved and ornate Roman Imperial helmet created in the mid-second century. Some of the helmet’s smallest……

Read More

“I believe that this was the work of a man who had a yearning for the homeland that he would never see again,” says British food historian Daniel Newman. He’s talking about Fiḍālat al-Khiwān fī Ṭayyibāt al-Ṭaʿām wa-l-Alwān, meaning “Remainders on the Table as Regards Delightful Foods and Dishes,” the original title of a cookbook written in Arabic around the year 1260. The author, Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī, was a scholar from a prominent family in the city of Murcia……

Read More