Author: Ms. R.

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit the largest theater pipe organ in the world—in a restaurant in Mesa, Arizona. Phenomenal musicians play requests while diners feast on pizza. 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……

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Less than a 30-minute drive from the heart of Maseru stands one of the most unique rock formations in the world. Lion Rock Mountain might only rise a few hundred meters above the horizon, but it still somehow manages to create an amazing landscape, something straight out of The Lion King. If you’re headed away from the capital en route to Lesotho’s more remote attractions, a quick stop here is sure to fill you with wonder and inspiration….

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November 1918 is widely considered the end of World War I. Memorials in the United Kingdom normally recognize this year in commemoration of the event, although this is not the case in the Outer Hebrides. Across the islands, 1919 is seen as the end of the war due to the sinking of the HMY Iolaire in January of that year. The Outer Hebrides were particularly affected by the global conflict, as no other area of the United Kingdom saw……

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Bright pink flamingos saunter through shallows, some pausing to nibble algae and tiny invertebrates near the surface. The birds’ movement creates small ripples in the reflection of mustard-yellow apartment buildings rising behind them. In another image, shot at night, bioluminescent soft corals glow an otherworldly blue in the shadow of an urban skyline. For Mumbai-born photographer Sarang Naik, these shots capture “life just quietly going along” in and around a city of 20 million. Naik’s surprising, wondrous images of……

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On a prominent hill visible from much of downtown Nashville, a stone reservoir with a capacity of 51 million gallons peeks above the surrounding tree-filled park. Completed in 1889, currently only used at half capacity but still the largest such serving Nashville. Many passersby see it daily yet few are aware that it was the site of a major disaster.  Just after midnight on the 5th of November, 1912, the ground under the base of the reservoir’s 22-foot thick wall……

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One can’t help but marvel at the tower of Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren (The Tower of Our Lady). Standing at a staggering 98.33 meters (322 feet), it looms high above Amersfoort. Indeed, you may see it sometimes peeking above buildings as you take a walk around the city.  Completed in approximately 1470, the tower wasn’t always alone. As you walk through Lieve Vrouwekerkhof, you may see where the foundations of the original church once stood, marked into the square. (The……

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The central Athens district of Exarcheia was formally established in the 1870s. It began as a labor settlement, and by 1910 it was a thriving middle-class neighborhood with a nice mix of businesses and residences. In the 1920s, Kostis Antonopoulos purchased land in the area with the goal of building large, modern multi-family housing. Antonopoulos and his family owned a large construction company and had experience with large projects. Antonopoulos hired two men to assist him with the project:……

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This story originally appeared in bioGraphic, an online magazine about nature and sustainability powered by the California Academy of Sciences. Sea turtles appear to fly as they swim beneath ocean waves. With long, gray-green flippers that move like slow wingbeats, they glide through the water as birds do through the sky. Actually flying through the air, though, at 10,000 feet above the ground, the reptiles seem anything but graceful. Inside the airplane, 120 sea turtles, 118 of which are……

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