The Cartoon Saloon is a tiny little place off the side of the road that is open to all. It is home to the Lone Star beer Christmas tree. Step in and view beer cans signed by previous patrons, sign the visitor log, or just sign the walls. See some of the cartoons drawn by the Cartoon Cowboy, JP Rankin. Despite the name, this roadside attraction is more of a picnic spot than an actual saloon. When the owners……
The Vedanta Society’s history in America dates back to the end of the 19th century. After attending the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, Swami Vivekanandaji traveled to San Francisco, where he gathered a significant group of students. The Vedanta Society of San Francisco was established in 1900. Vedanta, one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, was brought to America by Hindu disciples of Ramakrishna, including Vivekanandaji and Swami Trigunatitananda. After an invitation from Vivekanandaji, Trigunatitananda arrived in San Francisco on January 2, 1903…….
As one typically does before moving out, Jonathan Bostock was cleaning up and beautifying his property in Birmingham, England, for its new owners, clearing away the mess that can gather over the decades when one calls a place home. Then, in his overgrown garden, he found a bunch of centuries-old animal teeth. The teeth weren’t loose and scattered, but rather built into an old, hidden “folly,” or “grotto,” as some prefer. (It’s hard to decide whether loose or architectural……
Smoky was found in a foxhole in New Guinea in February 1944. The American soldier who found her thought she must have been a Japanese soldier’s dog, but when he took her to a POW camp, they found out she didn’t understand commands in Japanese or English. The soldier sold Smoky to Cpl. William Wynne of Cleveland, Ohio for two dollars. Over the next two years, Wynne carried Smoky in his backpack as he fought in the jungles of……
El Hierro’s steep windswept cliffs do not just bring fresh breezes to those standing near them, but seriously affect the local landscape. The biggest victims are the local Phoenician juniper trees that grow sideways due to these winds. These surreal-looking trees are so unique to the landscape that residents use them as a sort of national tree, placing images of these bent junipers on most touristic products. While there are several junipers of this type on the island, the most……
Hidden in modern suburbia, the historic Guadalupe Cemetery dates to 1904, around the time the first Yaqui Indians settled in the area. These gravesites tell stories through tributes and personal possessions left by loved ones. Many burst with colors, including flowers and other adornments. Burial mounds sit between a few mesquite trees and under brightly painted murals. Due to unrest in their ancestral home in Mexico, the Yaqui established a church and graveyard on this site as their first……
Situated by the sea and not far from the town of Port Logan itself is the Port Logan Fish Pond. When visitors approach the pond, they will notice a concrete structure at the end of a gravel path beside the sea. This unique attraction was opened during the 1800s and originally operated as a fish larder. The water in the pond is naturally changed by the tide via a filter. There is a wide variety of fish on display……
As I wandered the cobbled streets of Untertürkheim, a wine-growing village, I passed colorful, half-timbered houses with pretty planter box-lined windows and hikers ambling up the steep stairways that pierce the vine-covered hills. But I stayed focused on my task: searching for a broomstick hanging over a doorway. Here in southern Germany’s wine regions, a besen, or a broomstick, signifies something special. For up to 16 weeks, local laws permit winemakers to set up temporary restaurants to serve their……
Just outside Belmonte in a small place called Colmeal da Torre, stands an enigmatic tower that has been around since the 1st-century CE. Driving on the N18 road going south, almost arriving at Belmonte, visitors are greeted by an eerie tower standing in the distance to the far left. The building resembles an old crown made of stone, haunted by flocks of birds that fly around the building and nest in the crevices of the rocks. There is a……
Weather is a tricky science — even more so at very high altitudes, with a mix of plasma and neutral particles. In sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) — large meteorological disturbances related to the polar vortex in which the polar stratosphere temperature increases as it is affected by the winds around the pole — the polar vortex is weakened. SSWs also have profound atmospheric effects at great distances, causing changes in the hemisphere opposite from the location of the original……
William C. Gribble, Jr., had a distinguished career in the United States Army after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1941. He was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers. After World War II, he worked at Los Alamos laboratory and spent time in the Reactor Division of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission before ascending to head of the Army’s nuclear power program in 1960-1961. He held several other prestigious positions on his way to becoming Chief of……
Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. For this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, grab your pickaxes, shovels, and code-breaking supercomputers, because we’re going on a treasure hunt. 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……
A year and a half after Currencycloud raised $80 million in a round that included Visa, the London-based developer of APIs that powered remittance and currency exchange services is getting even closer to the financial services giant. Today, Visa announced that it would acquire CurrencyCloud in a deal valued at $963 million (£700 million). This price is a very decent leap from that last funding round, when sources told us the startup was valued at around $500 million. (As……
TOKYO (AP) — Alexis Vega scored the first of four second-half goals for Mexico in a 4-1 victory over France on Thursday in the men’s Olympic soccer tournament. Mexico, which won gold at the 2012 Olympics, had the better chances in the first half but the game was scoreless at the break. Vega scored first in the 47th minute and Sebastian Cordova added a second in the 55th. Andre-Pierre Gignac, who plays for Mexican club Tigres, scored from the…
SEATTLE (AP) — What the expansion draft of the Seattle Kraken lacked in drama it made up for with quirks, production and a giant party to celebrate one of the biggest steps in the launch of the NHL’s newest team. “I envisioned this a lot of different ways and this is unbelievable,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “All the boats on the lake behind us, the scene on the other side of the stage. It’s awesome.” Any unknowns about…
