Author: Ms. R.

Nearly a hundred years before Alcatraz, there was the Missouri State Penitentiary. On an unseasonably warm afternoon in Jefferson City, Missouri, the January sun shines high over the prison turned historic site. Inside, the limestone walls cast chills. Longtime resident and penitentiary tour guide Jenny Switzer leads the way down a dank, narrow corridor. “This is H Hall,” she says, pausing, with an air of reverence. To the left, long rows of cells, stacked four stories high, line the……

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Imagine yourself at Victoria Falls, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, a cascade of water more than a mile wide that plummets 350 feet, twice the height and width of Niagara Falls. Or perhaps straining your neck for a long, silent look at Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. Or maybe hearing your favorite song for the first time in years, or that moment when the sun crests the horizon at sunrise. According to Dacher Keltner, a leading……

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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 Lee’s Legendary Marbles & Collectables in York, Nebraska. It’s a pilgrimage of sorts for serious collectors, and a curiosity for the casual passerby. 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……

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Accessible both by land and by sea, these limestone caverns outside of the city of Lecce extend more than 150 meters. Zinzuli in Salentine dialect refers to torn scraps of cloth, which are thought to resemble the impressive stalagmites and stalactites. A journey into these caves will take travelers through areas such as the Corridor of Wonders, the Crypt, and, most impressively, the Duomo, so named for its cathedral-like, 24-meter-high ceiling.   Archeologists have found evidence that these caves were inhabited in Paleolithic……

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THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE JANUARY 21, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. Like most traditional dishes that involve offal, haggis inspires both fandom and ridicule. I’ll leave the latter to the haters. I, for one, love this Scottish classic. Yes, it’s spiced organ meat that gets cooked with suet and oatmeal inside a sheep’s stomach. But the process yields a meal that’s warm, rich, and savory. Along with its classic……

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The longest straight road in the United States isn’t the famous Route 46 in North Dakota (the longest straight section of which runs for just over 27 miles). There are two separate sections of the same highway in the Oklahoma Panhandle that surpass Route 46’s length by a substantial margin. From Boise City to just west of Guymon, Highway 412 runs razor’s-edge straight for 47.7 miles. And as if that wasn’t enough, when Highway 412 resumes its straight and……

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The Founder’s Memorial Park in Abu Dhabi is a creative and artistic tribute to the nation’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The site, through images, film, and personal accounts, tells the story of the Sheikh and his national and international influences.  Surrounding the memorial is the Heritage Garden, containing flora from across the deserts and coasts of the nation. At the heart of this space, amongst the indigenous Ghaf trees, is The Constellation, one of the……

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Situated in the picturesque town of Myrtleford lies this poignant memorial commemorating the life and service of Staff Nurse Elizabeth Rothery. Rothery was born in November 1885 and received her nursing training at the Ovens District Hospital in nearby Beechworth. She later moved south to Melbourne and began working as a midwife at the Melbourne General Hospital. She enlisted to join the Australian Army Nursing Service during World War 1 after her brother Norman sadly died while fighting in……

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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 an intricately carved church that’s one of Norway’s great treasures of architecture. 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 and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to……

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