Author: Ms. R.

Despite its white sand beaches and lively coral reefs, Tuvalu is the least visited country in the world. That’s not particularly surprising when you consider there is only a single, weekly flight to and from the remote island every Tuesday. The other six days of the week, the runway at Funafuti International Airport transforms into a public park.  The unfenced airstrip is a place for locals to lounge about and enjoy the island sun, typically in the early evening……

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In the Medieval church of St. Martin’s, Wareham, amongst the tombs of crusader knights lies a curious effigy to one of the most enigmatic historical figures and warriors of the 20th century:  Thomas Edward Lawrence—perhaps better known as Lawrence of Arabia. After his service during World War I in the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule of the Middle East,  T.E. Lawrence lived a mostly quiet life at his cottage at Cloud Hills, located near the town of Wareham. He……

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In 1974, Evel Knievel set out to launch himself across the vast Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho, on a customized rocket. The ramp remains today as a monument to the legendary daredevil’s daring attempt. When he was eight years old, Robert Craig Knievel attended an auto daredevil show, which he said inspired him to become a motorcycle daredevil. Over the course of his career, Knievel attempted more than 75 increasingly difficult motorcycle jumps. In the 1960s he proposed jumping……

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Call it a junk joint, call it a flea market or a vintage store. “We don’t really have a name for what we do,” co-owner Brandon Thaxton told Our Southern Souls: “We sell nostalgia.” Housed in a 15,000 square-foot brick building that was once a hardware store, downtown Hattiesburg’s Lucky Rabbit is a one-stop-shop for knick-knacks and wares of yesteryear—be they the 50s or the 90s. Every Saturday and Sunday, more than 80 vendors, creators, and local craftsmen and……

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Standing 100 feet tall and visible from all directions, especially when visiting the historic part of the city, the clock tower of Manila continues to serve its purpose since it was unveiled in 1930. The clock tower, the largest in the Philippines, has a hexagonal shape and three red-faced clocks on its three facets. It’s illuminated at night serving as a focal point of reference everyone. There’s a bell in the tower that is rung three times a day—twice……

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While honesty boxes are common among rural communities in the UK, the Shetland Islands have taken the concept further than the typical eggs and baked goods for sale outside a farmhouse. Across the islands, full-sized cake fridges and sizable structures are stocked with sauces, jams, bannocks, and even hand-knit souvenirs. The Original Cake Fridge (also known as Da Cake Fridge) was created in 2012 by Lynn Johnson, a farmer and avid baker who came up with the idea after……

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The 1968 Summer Olympics left a lasting, complicated legacy in Mexico City. The most infamous event related to it being the Tlatelolco Massacre, which took place a few days before the opening ceremony. Major infrastructure and cultural works have also been left behind, making the modern-day memory of the event a difficult one for most Mexicans. One of these projects that has managed some positive appreciation recently is the Friendship Route, or Ruta de la Amistad, the brainchild of……

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In November 2020, one of the most striking features of Brooklyn‘s Prospect Park reopened after a long restoration process. After years of being hidden, the Endale Arch once again offers the portal into the park that its designers envisioned. Landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux unveiled their vision for Prospect Park in the 1860s. They saw this arch, one of the first architectural elements constructed in the park, as a “transporting entrance to the majestic Long Meadow……

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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, reporter Sarah Wyman goes to northern Sweden to climb a mountain, explore a grim legend, and listen to the devil’s violin. 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…….

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This article is adapted from the October 23, 2021, edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here. One cold December night last year, I sat outside in the dark with a bottle of 100-proof apple liquor and a pile of trail mix. This wasn’t me trying to cope with 2020 trauma or a breakup. Plus, I had company: two of my Gastro Obscura coworkers on Zoom, also armed with high-proof liquor, dried fruit, and nuts…….

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When the inhabitants of the villages of Tora and Piccilli went to bed one evening in 1816, their world was just as they had always known it—if you ignored the strange torrential rains that had been plaguing the region. The next morning, however, life was forever changed. During the night, the rain-soaked soil on the hillside had broken loose and tumbled down into their reservoir, where masses of volcanic rock displaced a huge wave that thundered down the valley and swept away……

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