jessicahester1's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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eiffel tower

For Sale: 24 Steps From the Eiffel Tower's Spiral Staircases

Panoramic view of Paris not guaranteed.
November 13, 2018
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craters

This Century-Old Wartime Crater Is Still Visible From Space

The massive Lochnagar Crater, as seen from a satellite.
November 12, 2018
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hair art

The Strange Allure of Hundreds of Samples of Hair

The naturalist Peter A. Browne's collection of strands, tufts, and swatches—from animals and presidents alike—was almost lost.
November 9, 2018
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mosquitoes

How to Mail Mosquitoes

It involves a syringe.
November 7, 2018
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mosques

What Did This Mosque Sound Like More Than a Thousand Years Ago?

Researchers have recreated the acoustic atmosphere of the ancient Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba.
November 7, 2018
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central park

Central Park Could Have Been Filled With Fussy, Fancy Gardens

If John J. Rink had gotten his way, that is.
November 5, 2018
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sea burial

Can Hong Kong Sell Its Residents on Watery Graves?

Sea burial is a way to save space in a dense city, but runs counter to funeral traditions.
October 31, 2018
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dracula

Bram Stoker Wrote in His Library Books

The London Library combed through its shelves to track down his marginalia.
October 31, 2018
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moon

For Sale: Very, Very Tiny Pieces of the Moon

These samples of lunar soil are very expensive, too.
October 31, 2018
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fiction

In Sleepy Hollow, Life Imitates Legend

How a New York town made its fictional identity a reality.
October 30, 2018
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loneliest graves

The Mountaintop Cemeteries Surrounded by Coal Mines

Hard to access and hemmed in by explosive activity, these graveyards are stuck in limbo.
October 30, 2018
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loneliest graves

The Abandoned Graveyards on a Thawing Arctic Island

Climate change is causing trouble on Herschel Island.
October 26, 2018
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grave week

Union Soldiers Buried Their Dead in Robert E. Lee’s Garden

Before Arlington was a national cemetery, it was the Lee homestead, and then a tent city for occupying troops.
October 26, 2018
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loneliest graves

The Grave Farthest From Earth Is on a Spacecraft Headed Out of Our Solar System

Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, and then hitched a ride toward it.
September 6, 2022
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central park

Squirrel Counting Is a Great Excuse to Explore Central Park

A lesson in slowing down and looking close.
October 24, 2018
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calendars

When, Exactly, Did Vesuvius Destroy Pompeii?

And does it matter if we had the date a little wrong for thousands of years?
October 18, 2018
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waves

Prehistoric Sand Is Full of Secrets

Petrified wave ripples can tell us about the weather that dinosaurs saw.
October 18, 2018
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floods

Here Are the Mediterranean Sites That Will Be Swallowed By the Sea

Coastal erosion and flooding are bad news for these ancient places.
October 16, 2018
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service

Teach Yourself to Echolocate

A beginner's guide to navigating with sound.
October 11, 2018
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map monday

The Fantasy Maps That Put the World's Tallest Mountains Side by Side

In the 19th century, the romance of mountains met the desire to quantify the natural world.
October 10, 2018
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endangered animals

Why North America’s Gangliest Bird Is Hitching a Ride With the Coast Guard

Whooping cranes are on the move, because of budget cuts.
October 9, 2018
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entomology

Tag, You're an Insect

Tracking small creatures is frustrating, delicate, fascinating work.
October 5, 2018
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flags

Sold: The Flag That Hurricane Florence Shredded on Camera

A metaphor for weathering a storm.
October 4, 2018
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swarms

Billions of Mosquitoes Are Having a Post-Hurricane Field Day in North Carolina

One resident compared the swarms to snow flurries.
October 1, 2018