jessicahester1's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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freemasons

The Grandeur of Old Masonic Temples Also Makes Them Vulnerable to Fires

They're hard to reuse, and can be quick to burn.
October 22, 2019
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zoos

The 19th-Century French Frenzy for Species Swapping, in a Single Chart

Quaggas, ibises, and tapirs, oh my!
October 17, 2019
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dissection

A Dead, Decomposing Whale Once Toured the United Kingdom

The Tay Whale brought together science, spectacle, and hucksterism in the quest to turn a buck.
October 16, 2019
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dentistry

For Sale: Jane Austen’s Wince-Inducing Descriptions of 19th-Century Dentistry

In a letter to her sister, the novelist politely recounts a grisly scene.
October 16, 2019
Gastro Obscura
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bamboo

Picturing China's Bamboo Chopstick Industry From the Sky

Aerial views highlight a sliver of the huge business.
October 15, 2019
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churchill

For Sale: A Cigar Puffed by Winston Churchill in 1953

When the politician dropped it in a London theater, an usher swooped in to save it.
October 11, 2019
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smells

How Scientists Are Recreating Dinosaur Breath

At the Field Museum, visitors can now get a whiff of the Cretaceous.
October 10, 2019
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prohibition

For Sale: A Pink Temple to Temperance With a Dubious History of Debauchery

The rosy-hued house in Louisville, Kentucky, could be yours.
October 9, 2019
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exploration

The 19th-Century Charts That Put the World's Waterfalls on One Impossible Landscape

Imagine the roar.
October 8, 2019
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pigs

Londoners Once Wondered If Feral Hogs Roamed Victorian-Era Sewers

Lots of legends seem to start underground.
October 3, 2019
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drones

Drone-Piloting Scientists 'Weighed' Whales From 130 Feet in the Air

In Argentina, aerial imagery helps researchers get a close look at southern right whales from a distance.
October 2, 2019
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19th century

For Sale: A 19th-Century Silk Map of North America, Tiny Enough to Fit on a Pincushion

The cartographic curio was probably an educational tool.
September 27, 2019
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carnivorous plants

The Triumphant Return of England's Insect-Eating, Bog-Loving, Rad-Looking Great Sundew Plant

A conservation group is hoping that as peat bogs spring back, so will carnivorous plants.
September 17, 2019
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crustaceans

Found: A Fantastically Two-Toned Lobster Off the Coast of Maine

A little speckled, a little orange, a little mysterious.
September 16, 2019
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obscura academy

Why Kids Find the Darndest Prehistoric Things

It helps to be curious, low to the ground, and not afraid to look a little silly.
September 16, 2019
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garbage

Sometimes Trash Is Treasured in America's National Parks

Bottles, cans, and more can reveal a long history of industry, recreation, and shenanigans.
September 13, 2019
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nasa

What It's Like to Live on the Sea Floor to Simulate Life in Space

Researchers squeeze into an underwater habitat off Florida to help prepare for missions to the Moon and beyond.
September 9, 2019
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genetics

California's Meddlesome Tumbleweeds Could Grow Even More Menacing

Sorry, everyone: Researchers found that a hybrid species is even more “vigorous” than its parents.
September 6, 2019
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banks

How Scientists Safeguard Almost a Million Vials of Frozen Animal Semen

It involves tiny straws and a whole lot of liquid nitrogen.
September 6, 2019
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plastic

More Than Half a Century of Microplastics Are Buried in Layers of Sediment, Like Synthetic Fossils

The teeny menaces turned up in a core taken from the floor of the Santa Barbara Basin.
September 4, 2019
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beach

On the Midway With the Carnival Game Investigators Out to Protect Your Summer Fun

Step right up!
August 29, 2019
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amazon

Scientists of the Future Will Unearth Traces of the Scorched Amazon Rainforest

Long after the forest stops burning, the effects of this year's fires will linger in the soil and water.
August 28, 2019
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glass flowers

Feast Your Eyes on These Delicate Glass Models of Decaying Fruit

Blighted, century-old produce goes back on display for the first time in decades.
August 27, 2019
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chill week

Swaddling Glaciers in Blankets Isn’t the Oddest Idea for Extending Their Lives

As glaciers and ice sheets keep dwindling, scientists are proposing everything they can think of.
August 23, 2019