Author: Ms. R.

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE DECEMBER 16, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. On the back of my left hand, I have a silvery, 20-year-old scar. The size and shape of a long grain of rice, it’s the result of the time that my mother and I attempted to make a gingerbread house far above our skill level. Along with blueprints for gingerbread castles and football stadiums, the elegant cookbook we……

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We know more about the surface of Mars than we know about the deep sea, you may have heard people say. That’s not just NASA bragging. While the deep sea is the largest ecosystem on the planet, we know very little about it. It was once thought to be completely devoid of life, which couldn’t be further from the truth. But because the deep sea is frigidly cold, totally dark, and, well, deep, it’s extremely difficult to access. The……

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Far, far below the surface of the ocean, stretching deeper than sunlight can penetrate, deeper at points than Mount Everest is tall, is the largest and most mysterious ecosystem on the planet: the deep sea. The water there is nearly freezing, the pressure enormous. Light is either scarce or completely absent. For much of human history, this punishing environment was thought to be completely devoid of life. It’s only in the last century and a half that scientists have……

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Rome is antiquity, divinity and Buon appetito. And Rome is crowds, graffiti, and exhaust fumes. But a trek through the Orto Botanico di Roma is a respite, where an unhurried stroll through the quiet greenery instills calm. With its visual and olfactory pleasures, Orto Botanico more than holds its own with Rome’s more popular park destinations like the elegant Villa Borghese, itself a worthy (and free) destination, and the pricey Vatican gardens tours.  Covering just under 30 acres, the Orto……

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Bunk’Art 2 is the second phase of a project aiming at preserving the memory of the communist era. While Bunk’Art (aka Bunk’Art 1) focuses on the history of the communist army, Bunk’Art 2 presents the history of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and its secret police, Sigurimi. Hence, conceptually, Bunk’Art 2 sits between Bunk’Art (1) and the House of Leaves, complementing both. Bunk’Art 2 is set in the very heart of Tirana, surrounded by several ministries, the town hall,……

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“We’re going up north to the lake.” It’s a common phrase heard every summer across the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and for many families, boat culture is synonymous with being a Minnesotan. At the Legacy of the Lakes Museum in Alexandria, Minnesota, this cultural heritage is preserved and explained to Minnesotans and visitors alike. The museum began in the 1990s as a shared concept among a group of locals who loved restoring classic boats. There was a desire to……

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This story was originally published on The Conversation. It appears here under a Creative Commons license. Regardless of how you celebrate end-of-year holidays, food is probably central to your winter festivities. And a trio of spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger—feature in many dishes and drinks and are an unmistakable part of the scent profile we associate with the holiday season. As a plant scientist, I was curious to know how these spices, grown in the tropics, became so closely associated……

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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 take a detour for a glimpse of what some call New York’s worst kept secret—a train station that’s been shut down and sealed away for nearly a century. 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……

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This themed crossword comes from Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel, who grew up in Xi’an, China, before moving to the United States in 2001. She’s the author of Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords. You can solve the puzzle below, or download it in .pdf or .puz. Note that the links in the clues will take you to Atlas Obscura pages that may contain the answer. Happy solving!…

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