Dylan's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
AO Member
Livermore, California

National Ignition Facility

Location of the most powerful laser in the world, and the potential birthplace of tiny stars.
Vienna, Austria

Esperanto Museum

Museum devoted to the artificial language of Esperanto.
New York, New York

Obscura Antiques and Oddities

Tucked in the back of this amazing antique store is an important piece of medical history.
Kudowa-Zdrój, Poland

Kaplica Czaszek (Chapel of Skulls)

The walls and ceiling of this Polish church are decorated with thousands of skulls, with another 21,000 skeletons just below.
Detroit, Michigan

Heidelberg Project

One man's attempt to create an artistic wonder on a run-down block in Detroit.
Somalia

The Milky Seas

The world's largest bioluminescent area was undiscovered by science until 2005.
Isfahan, Iran

Pigeon Towers of Iran

These little castles each held thousands of pigeons.
Budapest, Hungary

Budapest Cave Church

Once the home of a hermetic monk, this cave now houses a small church.
Ivolginskiy datsan, Russia

Ivolginsky Datsan

The mummified remains of Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov, Russia's most important Buddhist.
Hardo Rattan, India

Wagah Flag Ceremony

On the Pakistan-India border the militaries perform an elaborate theater of aggression each and every night.
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Morning Glory Pool

A beautiful geyser under environmental threat.
Seattle, Washington

Lenin Statue of Fremont

Statue of Lenin, from Cold War era Czechoslovakia, now in a neighborhood of Seattle.
Rome, Italy

Santa Maria della Concezione Crypts

The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4,000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises."
Gilroy, California

Gilroy Gardens

Home to the "Circus" trees created by Axel Erlandson.
Salem, Massachusetts

The Witch House of Salem

The only structure left with direct ties to the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692.
Havana, Cuba

Old Havana Perfume Museum

This communist country can still appreciate its fragrant past.
Hulu Kuantan, Indonesia

Amorphophallus titanum

A monster in the plant world, up to 10 feet tall and smelling of death.
Savannah, Georgia

The Paris Market

This quirky curiosity shop takes its cues from the world's bazaars.
Silver Spring, Maryland

National Museum of Health and Medicine

An astounding collection of medical specimens, including bits of President Lincoln.
Syracuse, Utah

Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake

The largest island on the great salt lake is home to curious creatures and strange stories.
Zanjān, Iran

Salt Men of Iran

Salt cured mummies continue to turn up in this Iranian mine.
Hallstatt, Austria

Salzwelten: The Hallstatt Salt Mine

The world's oldest known salt mine.
Lyme Regis, England

The Glowing Clams of Great Britain

A midnight snack that lights up the night.
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Blaschka Glass Flowers

Impossibly life-like natural history models created out of glass by a father and son.