HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green scored 26 of his season-high 34 points in the second half to lead the Houston Rockets to a 111-91 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. The victory snaps a three-game skid overall for Houston and a five-game losing streak in the series against Memphis. The Rockets were up by six points to start the fourth, and used a 10-2 run, with the last seven points from Green, to make it 84-70 with…
When Heather McMahan recently debuted her first Netflix comedy special, “Son I Never Had,” the fan reaction was as though their best girlfriend had achieved a major win. “The coolest thing about this job is a lot of people have been on this journey with me from the beginning,” said McMahan recently over Zoom. “They found me on social media years ago and they’ve been rooting for me. It kind of feels like I’ve been in this giant life…
Wonder is everywhere. That’s why, every other week, Atlas Obscura drags you down some of the rabbit holes we encounter as we search for our unusual stories. We highlight surprising finds, great writing, and inspiring stories from some of our favorite publications. The U.S. Tried to Build a Secret City Under Greenland’s Ice by George Bass, Washington Post In the late 1950s, in the midst of the Cold War, the U.S. Army launched Project Iceworm, a top-secret plan to……
Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, journalist and author Doug Preston continues to guide us through the rumors and conspiracy theories that swirled around the Dyatlov Pass Incident, when nine people died mysteriously in the Ural Mountains of the Soviet Union in 1959. Just a few years ago, the case was apparently solved—though many don’t accept the explanation. If you want to learn more,……
Israel’s Cabinet approved a cease-fire agreement with the Hamas militant group that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that is now in its seventh week. The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack over a four-day period. Media reports ahead of the vote said Israel would free some 150 Palestinian prisoners and allow additional humanitarian…
Square in the middle of an otherwise unassuming street in Covington, this magic shop is not what might typically come to mind. Hierophany and Hedge does not peddle tricks or pranks—they’re purveyors of the peculiar and the impossible. Here you will find herbs and aromatics for your potions, cards and runes for reading your fate, and a grand selection of grimoires to guide you through whatever worlds you wish to travel. The shop’s keepers, Augur and Coil, are both masters……
In Ancient Egypt, people spoke of a land called Punt. It was supposedly a place of bounty, where you could get leopard skins, gold, or ostrich feathers. It was said pharaohs traveled there on ships and brought back live animals and even entire trees. But no one knows exactly where Punt was. Now, a mummified baboon may hold some hints. “Since the beginning of the pharaonic era, we have records that talk about the trip to Punt and the……
Momo has been patiently waiting for company in the square since her installation in 2007. The character was brought to life by author Michael Ende, and the sculpture was created by Ulrike Enders, a sculptor who has been based in Hanover since 1972. Published in 1973, the novel Momo focuses on the story of a remarkable young girl who possessed an extraordinary gift: the art of listening and helping people. (The book’s full title in German is Momo oder Die seltsame Geschichte……
The Samson of the Cimarron is a majestically named railroad bridge that stands tall over the Cimarron River crossing in southwestern Kansas along U.S. Highway 54. When it was completed in 1939, it solved more than a half-century of headaches, including bridge collapses, train wrecks, and the disappearance of an American city. The Rock Island Railroad came to Seward County in 1888, connecting southwest Kansas to the rest of the country. Towns sprang up all around the state, from……
In this remote part of Australia, you can find the official survey marker that indicated the meeting place of three Australian states: Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia. The marker was placed in September 1880, and is named for surveyor John Brewer Cameron, who spent two years marking the border between New South Wales and Queensland. As of the 2016 census, the town of Cameron Corner had a population of five people. This location is a good place to appreciate the……
A small group of passionate church members have created a not-so-small miracle in the tiny, unincorporated town of Conejos, Colorado. Starting in 2008, Ronald Rael, an architect and artist who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, started the design of the labyrinth. Rael was born in Conejos and remains connected to his Southern Colorado community. Alfonso Abeyta and a small team of volunteers from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, the oldest church in Colorado, turned some 32,000 handmade adobe bricks into……
About 20 miles west of London, the meadow of Runnymede hosts a memorial to John F. Kennedy, dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II two years after the U.S. president’s assassination on Nov. 22, 1963. Situated on land bequeathed in perpetuity to the American people, the memorial overlooks the riverbank where the Magna Carta — a pivotal document prefiguring modern constitutional democracies — was sealed 800 years before. It’s an apt place for visitors to reflect on President Kennedy’s legacy of……
Leading up to World War II, many cities and towns across the United Kingdom prepared air raid shelters to protect their citizens in case of attacks by the German Luftwaffe. This included the town of Stockport, which is located in northwest England, just south of Manchester. The Stockport air raid shelters were carved directly into the sandstone cliffs surrounding the industrial town, making them one of the most notable World War II purpose-built public air raid shelters still in……
American artist Duane Hanson died in 1996, but was renowned for his creations of hyper-realistic statues depicting everyday people. Hanson would make casts of real people in polyester resins with fiberglass, and then spend endless house painting the figures with extreme detail. Orlando International Airport’s “The Traveler” is one of two depictions of a sleeping traveler by the artist, who created a similar stature two years later. The second, however, is a little less airport appropriate attire, sporting nothing……
In 1776, after recovering from a serious fever, Jemima Wilkinson claimed to have died and been revived in a new form, neither male nor female. They left behind their old name and life and began preaching as the “Public Universal Friend,” or simply the Friend. The Friend’s theology was similar to that of most Quakers, and was especially rooted in the belief that all humans had free will. As they began preaching throughout New England, they gained a group……
