Author: Ms. R.

With its many walking trails, sounds of the Atlantic along the shores, planes flying overhead, and a distinct view of the Boston skyline, Deer Island is one of the most popular recreational areas around Boston Harbor. Today the island is home to the second-largest sewage treatment plant in the United States and is also joined by some of the other surrounding islands to form the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. However, Deer Island wasn’t always a picturesque and……

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Often, visitors to Havana, Cuba, can feel as though they are unstuck in time, what with the pervasive classic muscle cars and faded mid-century modern tourist attractions. Some tourists revel in this dissonance and take to the Mad Men lifestyle, while others may consider the many injuries, both self-inflicted and those caused by others, that have led Cuba to be forever stuck in the late 1950s. Perhaps nowhere is that tourist dissonance felt more strongly than at El Polinesio, a……

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California was the first state to be carved out of the far western territories, and the question of its eastern boundary was a bit contentious—not least because so little was known about the geography east of the Sierra Nevada. A convention in 1849 finally decided on arbitrary geographic lines on the map. In the north, the eastern boundary would run along the 120th meridian of longitude from the 42nd parallel of latitude (the southern boundary of the Oregon territory)……

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This monument was erected in memory of all those who lost their lives on the MS Estonia ferry when it sank in 1994. The sinking of the Estonia is one of the deadliest peacetime sinkings of a European ship, with casualties second only to the Titanic in 1912 and the Empress of Ireland in 1914.  The Estonia sank into the Baltic Sea on the morning of September 28, 1994. The ship had left Tallinn slightly behind schedule and was due to arrive in Stockholm……

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Frank Buhl, a steel magnate and philanthropist, saw his dream of the nation’s only free golf course realized in 1914. The nine-hole course belongs to the Buhl Farm Trust, alongside the adjacent park which is privately owned but free to the public, unusual for most American parks which are publicly owned. Buhl was the owner of Sharon Steel, a job that made him millions of dollars. He donated much of that fortune to the local community. According to PGA of……

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The Little Truckee River originates as the outflow from Webber Lake, a natural lake, in the Sierra Nevada north of Donner Summit. It is a substantial stream by the area’s standards and even has a couple of reservoirs in its lower reaches. In particular, it is the largest tributary to the main stem of the Truckee River. The Truckee in turn flows east into Nevada and is the primary water source for Reno and much of western Nevada. The……

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Amidst the cornfields and prairies of northeast Kansas, a limestone-clad schoolhouse sits on a dirt road across from an old farmhouse. In the morning, its bell rings loud and clear across the fields, reminding students to show up to class on time or else earn the sharp rebuke of their teacher. Granted, “students” to this historic school usually show up today wearing jeans and t-shirts, pulling up in 21st-century cars rather than wooden carts or on horseback, and tapping……

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Creating monsters, rigging disembodied eyeballs and crafting other horror film delights is the only job that effects artist Mark Villalobos has ever had. Before he was 18, he was already learning the trade on sets like A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and Beastmaster 2. “But I also love working on indie films,” he says. “You get very creative when there’s not a lot of money. Plus all the weirdos end up on low-budget stuff, and they’re the most……

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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 Bonaventure Cemetery in Georgia, and the grave of one Charles F. Mills, to learn about a peculiar belief that was once widespread: the hope to be saved by a bell. 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……

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