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film

Sound Influence: The Art and Soul of Puerto Rico

A new podcast from Atlas Obscura and Talkhouse, narrated by Luis Guzmán.
Malta

St. Paul’s Island

This tiny island is recognized as the site where St. Paul landed after a shipwreck in the first century.
Comet C/2023 A3, or Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, nearly 100 million miles from Earth, seen from the International Space Station on Sept. 22.
astronomy

Long Seen as Omens, Comets Do Tell Us Something About Ourselves

For thousands of years, comets have fascinated us, filled us with dread, and, in some ways, made us who we are.
Rebecca Boyle November 20, 2024
Matlock Bath, England

Peak District Lead Mining Museum

Explore the history of mining in this museum, or in a real mine from the 1920s.
Hereford, England

Black and White House Museum

This iconic Tudor home-turned-museum offers a unique glimpse into the everyday life of a prosperous family during the early modern period.
Wolji Pond, South Korea
temples

10 Places That Feel Like Journeying Back in Time

Who needs a time machine?
Atlas Obscura November 12, 2024
View from the overlook on Kuwohi of the mountain peaks and ridges of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
mountains

The Tallest of the Great Smoky Mountains Is—Officially—Kuwohi

The return of the indigenous name of Tennessee's highest point has meaning beyond what's on a map.
Seth T. Kannarr and Derek H. Alderman November 4, 2024
Orihuela, Spain

Murales de San Isidro

A working-class suburb has become an open-air art museum dedicated to a local poet and hero of the Spanish Civil War.
The Resolute Desk is considered the greatest of the presidential desks.
presidents

7 Presidential Stories They Don't Teach in History Class

Learn the secrets of the Oval Office desks, who got stuck in an elevator, and why we give presidents their own libraries.
Roxanne Hoorn November 1, 2024
museums

The Unique Gullah Geechee History of South Carolina

And where to experience Gullah culture across the Lowcountry today.
List

Tour South Carolina's Living History, Storied Ruins, and Abandoned Haunts

Twice-destroyed churches and derelict mansions await.
Much Marcle, England

Much Marcle Ancient Yew

One of the oldest and most majestic living trees in Britain, thought to be over 1,500 years old.
Galway, Ireland

Spanish Arch

Despite the name, this 16th-century structure in Galway wasn't built by the Spanish.
Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, or Alice Claypoole Gwynne, stunned in her "Electric Light" costume in 1883.
halloween

Get Inspired by History’s Most Scandalous and Stunning Costumes

For centuries, people have used fancy dress to impress.
Anne Ewbank October 28, 2024
Elevated horror movies such as 2018's <em>Hereditary</em> use the jump scare in unexpected ways, bringing the worn movie trope, ah, back from the dead.
horror

The Startling History of the Jump Scare

From 1942's Cat People to cerebral jolts in Hereditary and Get Out, this cinematic scare tactic still shocks.
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw October 28, 2024
politics

How a Newspaper Revolution Led to the 'Wide Awakes'—and the Civil War

In the mid-1800s, a boom in media outlets created a massive political movement—and plenty of disinformation.
Jon Grinspan October 28, 2024
England

St Helens Chapel

One of the oldest surviving buildings in Colchester dates back to the 11th century.
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Purcell-Cutts House

A notable example of Prairie School architecture that disregarded Victorian concepts about room divisions and featured a long, narrow floor plan.