Author: Ms. R.

Even before entering the World Soil Museum, the ombré shades of the building evoke freshly shoveled earth. Reddish-brown and tan hues create the appearance of layers of soil, called horizons. The exterior walls are coated with clay loam, a type of soil used to construct houses since ancient times. Inside, about 90 monoliths are affixed to the walls. These five-foot slabs of soil give visitors a deeper understanding of a vibrant subterranean world. Each monolith was extracted from a……

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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 the Hotel Theresa in Harlem, New York, which played a pivotal role in the influential neighborhood’s cultural identity. 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……

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The municipality of Calumpit lies just 30 miles north of Manila in a fertile lowland region of winding rivers. Today, one can make the journey by car in about an hour, but in January 1945, the distance was all but unconquerable. The U.S. Army, which had come ashore on Luzon in early January, had temporarily established its headquarters in Calumpit as it pushed toward Manila. Japanese forces, which had invaded the Philippines in December 1941, held the capital. In……

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Nestled in the rolling foothills of the Carpathian Mountains lies a verdant landscape dotted with evergreens and medieval cities. It’s a region that has seen many people come and go. Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Goths, and Huns all have claimed and lost pockets of land there. In the ninth century, Scandinavian Vikings, known as the Rus, established one of medieval Europe’s most powerful states there. Centuries later, a Rus descendant, Prince Roman of Volhynia and his son, pulled a……

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Varpa is a district in the small town of Tupã, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The district is known for being home to a large population of Latvian immigrants. Amidst the Latvian-style architecture, there is one colorful residence with intricate tile mosaic pieces on the outside. This is the atelier of an artist who works with mosaic style. Artist Silvana Nakamura decorated the entire residence with her art, inside and out. What is most striking is that……

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An Ecuadorian intellectual memorialized in Mexico City thanks to his diplomatic work and love of chess. Benjamín Carrión was born in Loja, Ecuador, in 1897. At the start of his career in Ecuador, he made a name for himself in writing, especially poetry. In addition, he dabbled in publishing and editing. Having learned French in his youth through books with the help of his mother and brother, his diplomatic career began as the Ecuadorian consul in Le Havre, France, in……

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This location once acted as one of the many emergency grain stores constructed in the region during World War II. Though it is now known as the Stick Shed, the grain storage facility was previously known as Murtoa No. 1 Grain Store. With the onset of World War II leading to trade restrictions, in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Australia had a lot of grain and nowhere to put it. The grain glut prompted the Australian Wheat Board……

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Devetashka is a massive cave located in rural Bulgaria and is believed to date back to the Stone Age. Unsurprisingly humans don’t tend to live in caves anymore and today the cave is home to over 30,000 bats.  The cave is impressively large measuring a little over a mile (two kilometers) in length and in places over 100 meters in height. Several large holes in the roof, commonly referred to as eyes, allow daylight to illuminate the vast interior…….

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The oldest still existing bank in the world can be found in Siena, Italy. But its days may be numbered due to financial problems. The bank traces its history back to 1472, when it was founded as a monte di pietà (mount of piety), an early form of organized charity that was intended as an alternative to moneylenders. After a reform in 1624, the bank came to its current name: Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. This bank is……

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The cempasúchil, flame-colored marigolds that the Aztecs once used to honor a goddess of death, are inescapable in Mexico City each October. Millions of the blossoms make their way into garlands in preparation for Día de los Muertos. On November 1, most of these fragrant flowers will wind up on the graves of loved ones. But each year, a few are set aside for a very different purpose: ice cream. “It tastes almost like you mixed chamomile with vanilla,” says José……

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In the northern city of Durham, the River Wear snakes around to carve out a U-shaped peninsula. This was an ideal natural defense for both the city’s medieval Norman castle and cathedral. Today, one can stroll along the banks of the river in a three-mile circular walk, taking a little over a mile. Nestled between the St. Leonard’s School Boat Club to the north, and the 18th-century stone Prebends Bridge to the south is a rather odd-looking structure with……

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