Recent Activity

• February 20, 2011 wythe updated the Basilica of St. Joseph of Cupertino
  

  Osimo, Italy

  Basilica of St. Joseph of Cupertino

  Church holding the preserved body of a levitating saint

  St. Joseph of Cupertino was a failure at just about everything—until he excelled at miracles. Born in Cupertino, Italy, in 1603, he expressed an early interest in religious devotion, first setting... »

  Memento Mori, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by allison and wythe

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Crater Lake
  

  Crater Lake

  The deepest lake in the United States, and once the site of epic destruction that lives on in myth

  Crater lake has been known by a number of names. It was first known (to non-Native Americans anyway) as "Deep Blue Lake," as named in 1853 by its "discoverer," John Wesley Hillman, an American... »

  Natural Wonders, Geological Oddities | Edited by canuck, Dylan and 2 others

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Lava Beds National Monument
  

  Lava Beds National Monument

  Trails through lava-carved tube-caves display sparkling bacteria and a rich history

  In North America, there is perhaps no better place to explore a volcanically sculpted landscape than Lava Beds National Monument in northern California. In addition to housing the largest... »

  Geological Oddities, Curious Caves | Edited by Trevor, Annetta and others

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Las Medulas
  

  Carucedo, Spain

  Las Medulas

  Devastated landscape used for hundreds of years by the Romans as their primary mining site

  A historic site in Spain, Las Medulas was once the most important gold mine in the Roman Empire. Named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the area, which is near the town of Ponferrada in the region... »

  Intriguing Environs | Edited by Nicholas Jackson, wythe and others

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Maltese Catacomb Complexes
  

  Saint Paul's Catacombs, Malta

  Maltese Catacomb Complexes

  Burial grounds for more than 1,000 bodies deep under the modern town of Rabat

  From the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, the Roman city of Melite developed a complex system of burial grounds on its outskirts under the modern town of Rabat, a village outside of Mdina, the... »

  Natural Wonders, Curious Caves, Memento Mori, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Cultures and Civilizations , Rites and Rituals, Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Subterranean Sites | Edited by oksana_m, Nicholas Jackson and 2 others

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Monument to Humanity, Kars
  

  Kars, Turkey

  Monument to Humanity, Kars

  Unfinished monument to peace between Turkey and Armenia, long divided by a dispute over genocide

  Naif Alibeyoglu, a former mayor of Kars, Turkey, decided in 2006 to build a giant sculpture as a peace gesture from Turkey to Armenia. But opposition to the structure, led by Oktay Aktas, the... »

  Cultures and Civilizations , Architectural Oddities | Edited by Nicholas Jackson, Dylan and 2 others

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Bunce Island
  

  Bunce Island, Sierra Leone

  Bunce Island

  Home of the ruins of a British slave castle

  Twenty miles up the Sierra Leone River from Freetown is Bunce Island, the site of a former British slave trading castle. The castle operated from 1670 and 1808 and sent around 50,000 enslaved... »

  Cultures and Civilizations , Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by leiris, Nicholas Jackson and others

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Neft Daşları
  

  Baku, Azerbaijan

  Neft Daşları

  Complete town of 5,000 living out at sea on the world's first offshore oil platform

  An industrial settlement 100 miles off the coast of Baku, Azerbaijan, Neft Daslari (Neftyanyye Kamni or Nerftekamni in Russian) is a complete town on the sea. The first oil platform in Azerbaijan,... »

  Natural Wonders, Architectural Oddities | Edited by Nicholas Jackson and wythe

• February 19, 2011 wythe liked Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima, Japan
  

  Hatsukaichi, Japan

  Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima, Japan

  Japanese national treasure originally built in 593 CE

  Itsukushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine located on the island popularly called Miyajima, in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it is dedicated to the three daughters of the... »

  Cultures and Civilizations , Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by spinkk, Nicholas Jackson and others

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Freetown Christiania
  

  Copenhagen, Denmark

  Freetown Christiania

  Danish tourist destination well known for open stalls where vendors sell marijuana on the street

  Freetown Christiania, or simply Christiania, is a neighborhood of only 850 residents in the Danish capital of Copenhagen that is largely known both inside and outside of the country as a big... »

  Cultures and Civilizations , Architectural Oddities | Edited by PaperTiger, Nicholas Jackson and others

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Lake Shore Inn
  

  Lake Shore Inn

  Abandoned hotel with adjacent lake and golf course

  The Lake Shore Inn in California City, a ghost town north of Los Angeles, was abandoned more than two decades ago but is still standing today, refusing to fall—for now. Still intact are the... »

  Architectural Oddities | Edited by hross, Nicholas Jackson and others

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Great Banyan Tree
  

  Haora, India

  Great Banyan Tree

  A single tree's 2,800 aerial roots give the appearance of a complete forest

  The Great Banyan Tree is a 250-year-old tree that covers about 14,500 square meters of land (3.5 square acres) in the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden near Kolkata (Calcutta), making... »

  Natural Wonders, Extraordinary Flora | Edited by leiris, Nicholas Jackson and others

• February 19, 2011 wythe updated the Barry Troglodyte Village
  

  Bollene, France

  Barry Troglodyte Village

  Series of underground houses inhabited continuously for centuries

  The Barry Troglodyte Village ("Village troglodytique de Barry") is a series of underground houses that were inhabited continuously—as far as we know—from the Neolithic era to the early 20th... »

  Architectural Oddities | Edited by Chryseis, Nicholas Jackson and others

• February 19, 2011 wythe liked Monument Arthur Rimbaud
  

  Marseille, France

  Monument Arthur Rimbaud

  "Drunken ship" sculpture memorializing the French poet in the city where he died

  Overlooked by both locals and tourists, the Monument Arthur Rimbaud looks like a strange rock formation—or a primitive ship that ran aground and turned to stone. Blending into the shore of... »

  Unusual Monuments, Strange Statues | Edited by allison, Nicholas Jackson and others

• November 24, 2010 wythe updated the Abandoned Village of Kayakoy
  

  Kayakoy, Turkey

  Abandoned Village of Kayakoy

  A Turkish ghost town abandoned in a population exchange with Greece

  The deserted ruins of this once-bustling town are nestled against the Taurus Mountains, close to the world-famous beaches and yacht-filled harbor at Olu Deniz. Although the stone buildings are... »

  Ghost Towns, Incredible Ruins | Edited by NME76, Kalia_K and 2 others

• November 24, 2010 wythe updated the Museum of Ancient Life
  

  Museum of Ancient Life

  Largest collection of mounted dinosaur specimens in the world

  Opened in 2000 as part of the $23-million Thanksgiving Point museum complex in Lehi, Utah, the Museum of Ancient Life contains sixty mounted dinosaur specimens and proclaims itself the largest... »

  Natural History | Edited by Josh, Dylan and 4 others

• November 3, 2010 wythe updated the Old Ship Church
  

  Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, US

  Old Ship Church

  Oldest church in the United States that is still in continuous use

  The Old Ship Church, located in Hingham, Massachusetts, is the oldest church building in the United States that has been in continuous ecclesiastical use. Built in 1681, the Church is often called... »

  Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by ronin, Nicholas Jackson and others

• November 3, 2010 wythe updated the Heidelberg Thingstatte
  

  Heidelberg, Germany

  Heidelberg Thingstatte

  Nazi edifice built on a sacred mountain site used by various German cults

  As part of his mission to indoctrinate the entire German population during the Nazi regime, Joseph Goebbels started the "Thing" movement in 1933 to build huge outdoor settings where thousands of... »

  Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by A Facebook user, Nicholas Jackson and others

• November 3, 2010 wythe updated the Ghost Fleet of Truk Lagoon
  

  Rael Kedam, Palau

  Ghost Fleet of Truk Lagoon

  Tropical paradise strewn with hundreds of World War II wrecks

  For two days in 1944, Allied bombers rained destruction on the beaches of the Caroline Islands in the South Pacific. During World War II, the lagoon was host to Japan's Imperial fleet, which left... »

  Natural Wonders, Watery Wonders | Edited by Annetta, wythe and others

• November 3, 2010 wythe updated the Grave of Peter, the Wild Boy of Hanover
  

  Northchurch, United Kingdom

  Grave of Peter, the Wild Boy of Hanover

  "The Most Wonderful Wonder that ever appeared to the Wonder of the British Nation"

  In 1725, a young boy was discovered in the woods outside of the German town of Hamelin (of Pied Piper fame). He was disheveled and dirty, spoke no words, and walked on all fours. He appeared to be... »

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

• October 11, 2010 wythe updated the Mbad Museum and Dabl's African Bead Gallery
  

  Detroit, Michigan, US

  Mbad Museum and Dabl's African Bead Gallery

  Detroit's oldest collection of its kind, some of Olayame Dabl's beads date back about 400 years

  Tucked into a former house on Detroit's near west side, a short ride from downtown, the Mbad Museum and Dabl's African Bead Gallery is the fourth African bead museum to open in the United States.... »

  Commercial Curiosities, Purveyors of Curiosities, Eccentric Homes | Edited by Nicholas Jackson, wythe and others

• October 11, 2010 wythe updated the Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
  

  Farmington Hills, Michigan, US

  Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum

  Astounding collection of coin-operated games and automata

  Nestled behind and between two shopping malls, Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum party-store-ish, pink-awning-ed exterior belies the utter visual cacophony that will assault your senses upon... »

  Museums and Collections, Unique Collections, Amazing Automata | Edited by Lizardo, Dylan and 3 others

• October 11, 2010 wythe updated the Crow Manor
  

  Detroit, Michigan, US

  Crow Manor

  Collective made up of artists, musicians, and activists

  Founded by David Kujawa, the Crow Manor is a collective made up of artists, musicians, and activists. With a community garden and a functioning, work-working shop, the Crow Manor holds workshops... »

  Odd Accommodations | Edited by Nicholas Jackson and wythe

• October 11, 2010 wythe updated the Museum Carnavalet
  

  Paris, France

  Museum Carnavalet

  A peep into the history of Paris, including a set of Napoleon's toiletries

  Occupying two neighboring historical mansions, the Carnavalet Museum in Paris tells the story of Paris from its founding until the present. One of the mansions, known as "L'hôtel Carnavelet,"... »

  Museums and Collections | Edited by Madiha Bataineh, Dylan and 2 others

• October 11, 2010 wythe updated the Trumbullplex
  

  Detroit, Michigan, US

  Trumbullplex

  Detroit housing collective working to create an "environment for revolutionary change"

  Located in the Woodbridge neighborhood of Detroit, the Trumbullplex is a housing collective and performance venue that was created in 1993. The members of the collective established the nonprofit... »

  Cultures and Civilizations , Eccentric Homes | Edited by Nicholas Jackson and wythe