Stories - Atlas Obscura

In Texas, Barbecue Has Gone Global

Across Texas, chefs and BBQ obsessives are stretching the limits of brisket, smoke, and sauce.

archive of wonder

5 of Our Favorite Odd Traditions of English Royalty

From a coronation pie made of lampreys to someone to chat with you in the loo.

Podcast: The Last Wild Apple Groves

Granny Smiths and Fujis can both be traced back to Kazakhstan, where apples still grow wild.

Gold, Ghosts, and Gin: The Curious Spirits and Elaborate History of Virginia City

This one-time boomtown still oozes with the spirit of the Wild West.

Meet Nevada’s Bristlecone Pines, Some of the Oldest Trees on Earth

These ancient trees with a survivalist spirit inspire awe.

How Farmers Are Preserving Israel’s Disappearing Agricultural Legacy—One Tractor At a Time

At the Tractor Museum, every machine has a story.

How to Recreate the Deepest, Darkest Ocean

Revealing the unseen world under Monterey Bay.

Podcast: Caring for Canids

Spend a day hanging out with domesticated Russian foxes at a California conservation center.

The Friendliest Town on the Loneliest Road

Eureka, Nevada is a must-see pitstop along the magnificent wide open road of Route 50, where travelers can immerse themselves in a bygone era and explore secret underground tunnels.

Ranking the Pain of Stinging Insects, From ‘Spicy’ to ‘Shockingly Electric'

Remembering one passionate entomologist who poetically described and classified more than 70 species' painful stings.

Ancient DNA Restores the Origin Story of the Swahili People

New research complicates both modern and colonial-era ideas about the medieval East African civilization.

Podcast: Telling Time Through the Trees With the Places Team

These trees have seen major moments in history.

Puzzle Monday: A Different Way to Paint by Number

Make the Official Mocktail of the European Space Agency

Inspired by a mission to Jupiter, this bright blue drink bested 69 other 'space juices'.

Reclaiming Georgia's Stone Mountain Through Haunting Landscape Images

Photographer Sheila Pree Bright wanted to find a new way of seeing the site and its connection to centuries of racism.

How Did the Chess Pieces Get Their Names?

One player’s pawn is another’s farmer. And at one time, the queen was the virgin, and rather powerless.

The Resilience of Sri Lanka's Musical, Mobile Bakeries

Faced with stiff competition and a strained economy, these Beethoven-blasting bread trucks fight to stay afloat.

Marie Curie As You’ve Never Met Her Before

The world’s first two-time Nobel Laureate was a nerd’s nerd who broke the law for knowledge.