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Suborbital space tourism finally arrives | FCC prepares to run public C-band auction | The big four in the U.S. launch industry — United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman — hope to be one of two providers that will receive five-year contracts later this year to launch national security payloads starting in 2022. | China’s launch rate stays high | The International Space Station is the largest ever crewed object in space.

 
Verkehrsmuseum Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt Transit Museum)...
The operator of public transportation in Frankfurt am Main, the Stadtwerke, keeps one example of every type of vehicle used for the city’s public transportation system since the beginning of their operations. Displaying that collection, the Verkehrsmuseum (Transit Museum), opened its doors in 1984. It features the oldest preserved electric trolley car in the world. The worldwide unique museum displays the development of public transportation of its city, especially the trolley car, completely without interruption. In 1950, the trolley...

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Sanctuary Knocker in Durham, England
Passing through the front doors of Durham Cathedral, you may notice the metallic head of a lion holding a ring in the shape of a snake in its mouth. What few may realize is that this is a meticulously-rendered duplicate. The original lies inside the church, in the Great Kitchen in Open Treasure. Known as the Sanctuary Knocker, this small object has played an important role in the cathedral’s history. The Sanctuary Knocker dates back to the 12th century....

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Steens Mountain in Princeton, Oregon
A number of Oregon stereotypes don’t apply to Steens Mountain, located in the southeastern corner of the state. First, it doesn’t support a thick conifer forest, apparently because it’s so remote it was never seeded after the glacial retreat. Second, it’s in the “outback” east of the Cascades, popularly supposed to be the unattractive part of the state. Finally, although the mountain is made of layers of volcanic rock, it’s not a volcano, unlike the famous peaks in the...

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Misnébalam in Misnébalam, Mexico
The hacienda of Misnébalam, along with its surrounding abandoned village, is the only ghost town in the state of Yucatán. Located at the first turnoff at kilometer 21 of the Mérida-Progreso highway, this unique hacienda, or estate, was built in the early 20th century, and inhabited for about 100 years before being abandoned around 2010. Misnébalam was once an important site for the production of henequén, an agave plant that is often turned into rope. At its peak, more...

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Sovereign Hill in Golden Point, Australia
This 37-acre outdoor living museum is situated on a former gold mining site, which transformed the city of Ballarat after gold was first discovered in the region around 1851. Opened in 1970, visitors to the site get the chance to see what the gold rush was like during this period. The museum also features period-dressed characters, horse rides, underground mines, and live gold pouring. Visitors can walk in the 1850 era shops, schools, and buildings that take them back...

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Buckley's Bunyip in Aireys Inlet, Australia
Located in Aireys Inlet, part of the Great Ocean Road resides this magnificent sculpture. William Buckley was deported from the United Kingdom to Australia as a convict. He was bound for a convict settlement, however, he escaped into the bushland. While hiding in the region barely able to survive, he befriended the local Wathaurong People. Buckley became immersed in their culture and claimed to have seen a Bunyip on multiple occasions, which is a legendary water monster from Aboriginal...

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The Reclining Buddha of Baphuon Temple in...
The beautiful Baphuon is a striking part of the Angkor Thom complex in Cambodia. Often less busy than its more famous counterparts, the temple has an interesting history and hidden statue. It has a wonderful approach along its long, raised processional path passing between the remains of its reflection pools. Built in the 11th century as the state temple for Udayadityavarman II, Baphuon was originally dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. But in the late 15th century, the three-tiered temple...

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Poway Midland Railroad in Poway, California
Where outside of San Francisco can you ride a 1906 San Francisco cable car? That would be Poway, California. The narrow-gauge Poway Midland Railroad claims to have the only operational San Francisco cable car carrying passengers outside of the Bay Area. The car debuted in San Francisco’s California Street fleet in late 1906. It was built to replace cars destroyed in the earthquake that devastated the city on April 18 of that year. In 1955 it was sold to Knott’s...

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Podcast: Cisternerne
Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit a massive 19th-century reservoir under the city of Copenhagen that has been repurposed as a contemporary art cave. We venture inside to learn more about its history and bask in the incredible acoustics of the space. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you...

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The Archive That Treats Protest Buttons Like...
In the 1960 and 70s, the University of Connecticut, like many college campuses across the United States, was awash in protests—and the buttons that came with them. “The stuff being produced was entirely ephemeral,” says Graham Stinnett, the archivist who oversees the university’s alternative press collection. The pin-on buttons, along with the bumper stickers, signs, T-shirts, and alt-weeklies of the counterculture, were meant to be discarded. But the archivist and librarians on campus made the then-radical decision to collect...

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Alinjagala in Alinja, Azerbaijan
Atop Alinja Mountain in Azerbaijan sits an impressive fortress known as Alinjagala or Alinja Tower. Though the exact details of its origins are not known, historical evidence points to a fortification at this site dating back to the first century, established by the Armenian lords of Syunik. The mountaintop fortress had dozens of buildings, including barracks, warehouses, a bathhouse, stables, kitchens, an arsenal, treasury, and the ruler’s palace. It is surrounded by thick stone walls, and accessible by a steep...

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Buchan Caves Reserve in Buchan, Australia
Archaeological finds suggested that Aboriginal people have lived in the Buchan caves reserve region for around 18,000 years. The reserve contains multiple caves including the fairy cave and a royal cave. The two largest caves within the reserve are actually linked together alongside multiple other smaller caves. Tours throughout the cave can be arranged, and allows visitors the chance to view amazing limestone formations that have been carved through the rock by underground river activity for over 400 million...

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Sutton Salt Lake in Middlemarch, New Zealand
Travel through Otago and you might see Sutton Salt Lake, New Zealand‘s only inland salt lake. If you visit before it evaporates, that is. Though it contains water up to half as salty as seawater when full, the lake is over 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the nearest coast. Located in a shallow basin, its salinity is all thanks to salt produced by a repeated cycle of refill and evaporation created by rain and high winds. Visit in the...

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Emmaus Mosaic Mural in Emmaus, Pennsylvania
When educators from the East Penn School District traveled to Philadelphia in 2012, they visited noted mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar’s Magic Gardens installation. The intricate mosaic artwork inspired these educators to create their own mosaic. They contacted Zagar, who generously worked together with local students and teachers to coordinate and create a mosaic abstraction of a map of the Emmaus community. The final result is a stunning community art piece, in the style of Isaiah Zagar, that was installed in...

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Thomas Jefferson Tower's Zeppelin Mooring Mast in...
The Thomas Jefferson Hotel and its Mooring Mast was built in 1929 by the Union Realty Company. The 19-story building featured an ornate marble lobby, a large ballroom, and a rooftop mast intended for mooring airships. In the 1920s and 30s, dirigibles were all the rage. Airships provided some of the earliest commercial transatlantic flights. They were a quicker and cheaper way to travel compared to long voyages by sea. During this era, a number of buildings around the United...

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