Recent Activity

• March 30, 2011 amberjol liked Plaster Citizens of Pompeii
  

  Plaster Citizens of Pompeii

  Their last minutes captured in plaster

  Those that did not flee the city of Pompeii in August of 79 AD were doomed. Buried for 1700 years under 30 feet of mud and ash and reduced by the centuries to skeletons, they remained entombed... »

  Memento Mori, Disaster Areas, Long Now Locations, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Annetta, Dylan and others

• March 30, 2011 amberjol updated the Smuttynose Island
  

  Maine, US

  Smuttynose Island

  Scene of the grisly murder of two Norwegian women in 1873

  Six miles off the coast of New Hampshire, but actually belonging to the state of Maine, Smuttynose Island is one of the Isles of Shoals. Named by fishermen who thought all of the seaweed that... »

  Memento Mori, Intriguing Environs, Disaster Areas | Edited by John Pittman, Nicholas Jackson and 2 others

• March 30, 2011 amberjol updated the Cesare Lombroso's Museum of Criminal Anthropology
  

  Cesare Lombroso's Museum of Criminal Anthropology

  Once only open to academics, "Lombroso's Museum" has opened its doors to the public revealing the astonishing collection of an infamous criminologist

  As the criminologist Cesare Lombroso examined the skull of the autopsied body of Giuseppe Villela, the notorious Italian criminal he had just dissected, he discovered a cranial anomaly known as a... »

  Museums and Collections, Wonder Cabinets, Strange Science, Medical Museums, Unique Collections, Memento Mori, Hoaxes and Pseudoscience | Edited by Dylan, amberjol and others

• March 30, 2011 amberjol updated the The Museum of the Weird
  

  The Museum of the Weird

  Continuing the tradition of the dime museum in style

  The dime or dime store museum is by all accounts an endangered species. The first dime museum, "The American Museum," was opened in 1841 by none other than P. T. Barnum himself. It represented a... »

  Museums and Collections, Wonder Cabinets, Strange Science, Outsider Art, Unique Collections | Edited by Dylan, wythe and 4 others

• March 30, 2011 amberjol updated the Cemetery of Lost Cemeteries
  

  Gdansk, Poland

  Cemetery of Lost Cemeteries

  Memorial to the lost dead of Gdansk, whose resting places were destroyed during World War II

  Before World War II broke out, the Polish city of Gdansk was home to 27 different graveyards and a necropolis. All of those were destroyed during the war or bulldozed after it. Decades later, on... »

  Memento Mori, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by reneejudith, Nicholas Jackson and others

• March 30, 2011 amberjol updated the Arcosanti
  

  Arcosanti

  An urban laboratory

  Using a concept he calls arcology, architect Paulo Soleri began construction on Arcosanti in 1970. This experimental city was constructed in order to demonstrate how urban conditions could be... »

  Outsider Architecture | Edited by theamarant and amberjol

• March 29, 2011 amberjol updated the Mammoth Cave
  

  Mammoth Cave

  World's longest known cave

  Known as the world's longest cave system, Mammoth Cave earned its name due to its vast size. To date, over 392 miles of the cave's interconnected passages have been explored, beginning with Native... »

  Curious Caves | Edited by urk1971, amberjol and others

• March 29, 2011 amberjol updated the Felicity, California: Center of the World
  

  Felicity, California: Center of the World

  Semi-recognized center of the world, with many oddities

  According to the French government and California’s Imperial County, the official center of the world lies in the town of Felicia in California’s Sonora Desert. There is no scientific or political... »

  Unusual Monuments, Outsider Architecture, Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by leiris and amberjol

• March 24, 2011 amberjol has been to Philadelphia's Magic Gardens
  

  Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

  Folk art environment, gallery space, and nonprofit showcasing the work of mosaicist Isaiah Zagar

  Philadelphia's Magic Gardens are a folk art environment, gallery space, and nonprofit organization that showcases the work of mosaicist Isaiah Zagar located at the site of Zagar's largest public... »

  Outsider Art, Strange Statues, Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes, Mazes, Outsider Architecture, Obscura Day Location | Edited by Nicholas Jackson

• March 24, 2011 amberjol has been to CN Tower: The Tallest Metal Staircase on Earth
  

  CN Tower: The Tallest Metal Staircase on Earth

  One of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World holds the world's tallest metal staircase

  The idea of the CN Tower originated from the 1968 Canadian National Railway's desire to build a large TV and radio communication platform to serve the Toronto area, as well as demonstrate the... »

  Architectural Oddities | Edited by canuck and Dylan

• March 21, 2011 amberjol has been to Evolution Nature Store
  

  Evolution Nature Store

  A terrific purveyor of natural history objects and curios

  Evolution stands out among the clothing stores and restaurants in Manhattan's SoHo art district as a truly distinctive and handsome shop. Tucked into every corner and crevice of the wood-panelled... »

  Wonder Cabinets, Commercial Curiosities, Purveyors of Curiosities | Edited by Dylan

• March 21, 2011 amberjol has been to Obscura Antiques and Oddities
  

  Obscura Antiques and Oddities

  Tucked in the back of this amazing antique store is an important piece of medical history

  The corner of 10th and A in the Lower East Side of Manhattan is hardly the place one would expect to find a beautiful piece of medical history, but tucked in the back corner of the Obscura antique... »

  Purveyors of Curiosities | Edited by Dylan

• March 21, 2011 amberjol added Jeffrey's Hook Light
  

  Jeffrey's Hook Light

  Little Red Lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge

  One of the last standing lighthouses in all of Manhattan, Jeffrey's Hook Light is a small structure that stands almost directly under the George Washington Bridge on the New York side.... »

  Architectural Oddities | Edited by amberjol, spinkk and 2 others

• March 21, 2011 amberjol added Mayfield Park
  

  Mayfield Park

  Free public park and gardens filled with peacocks and peahens

  Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, what would become known as the Mayfield-Gutsch Estate was purchased by Austin politician Allison Mayfield in 1909 with its 23 acres of... »

  Natural Wonders, Fascinating Fauna | Edited by amberjol and Nicholas Jackson

• March 10, 2011 amberjol updated the Mitchell Park
  

  Mitchell Park

  A Large Camera Obscura, Constructed Entirely From Digitally Fabricated Components

  Located on an oceanfront in Long Island, Mitchell Park in Greenport, New York brings together a curious synthesis of ancient and new technology in its Camera Obscura. The awareness of the... »

  Optical Oddities | Edited by amberjol

• November 27, 2009 amberjol commented on Loretto Chapel

  my cousin got married here! my parents always bring up with an interesting/beautiful place it was for a wedding ceremony.

• November 27, 2009 amberjol updated the Loretto Chapel subtitle and description
  

  New Mexico, US

  Loretto Chapel

  Wedding chapel's mysterious spiral staircase said to be miraculously constructed

  The story goes something like this: Our Lady of Light Chapel was built for the Sisters of Loretto in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1872, but the Bishop in charge died of pneumonia in 1888, before he... »

  Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by amberjol and wythe

• November 24, 2009 amberjol added Buckhorn Exchange
  

  Buckhorn Exchange

  Wall to wall taxidermy at Denver's oldest and most exotic steakhouse

  Founded in 1893, the Buckhorn Exchange displays antique weapons, hundreds of mounted animal heads and other assorted taxidermy displays upon its bright red walls. In addition to the old-timey... »

  Hunting and Taxidermy, Bizarre Restaurants and Bars | Edited by amberjol

• November 23, 2009 amberjol added The Troll Museum
  

  New York, US

  The Troll Museum

  Reverend Jen's unique museum/living room showcases her troll collection

  In a sixth floor walk-up in New York City's Lower East Side, a woman in elf ears named Reverend Jen, along with her pet chihuahua, Reverend Jen Jr., give a guided tour of a unique collection of... »

  Unique Collections | Edited by amberjol and Dylan