matthewtaub's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

matthewtaub

Contributing Writer, formerly Editorial Fellow. Still aspiring Jolly Good Fellow. Say hi: matthewtaubwrites@gmail.com @mjtaub1 (Twitter/Instagram)

https://twitter.com/mjtaub1

2018
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oxford university

Oxford’s Library Once Branded Its Sauciest Books With a Greek Letter

How James Joyce, Madonna, and Monty Python ended up on the same restricted shelf.

November 15, 2018

The Competitive Book Sorters Who Spread Knowledge Around New York

Inside an annual contest of brains, brawn, and library logistics.

November 14, 2018

You Can Now Eavesdrop on Orcas on Your Computer

Listen to the peaceful, and sometimes not-so-peaceful, sounds of the sea for the sake of science.

November 12, 2018

Moth Fur Is the Ultimate Acoustic Armor

It muffles the clicks of ravenous, echolocating bats.

November 9, 2018

Found: Vulgar Mosaics in a Roman Latrine

They offered bathroom-goers some raunchy entertainment.

November 8, 2018

See How Badly Crop Burning Is Fouling Northern India's Air

NASA photos show an impenetrable haze.

November 6, 2018

conspiracy theories

For Sale: Fragments of the Grassy Knoll Kennedy Conspiracy Theory

These fence posts were witnesses to history.

November 2, 2018

Found: Teeth From a Medieval Sea Monster/Delicacy

Fancy a lamprey pie?

November 1, 2018

The Ancient Mesoamerican City That Spawned Copies of Itself

New laser imaging shows Izapa's suburbs were like mini-capitals.

October 29, 2018

We Always Thought This Dinosaur Was a Vegetarian, Then We Found Its Front Teeth

A sharp surprise from Montana's Hell Creek.

October 26, 2018

Why England Once Forced Everyone to Be Buried in Wool

Transgressors had to pay a heavy fine.

October 25, 2018

Found: A Photo of the Man Who Fired Van Gogh and Changed Art History

A portrait of the artist as a bad salesman.

October 23, 2018

Mule Deer Are Eating Away at the Most Massive Living Thing in the World

A special aspen grove needs the chance to regenerate.

October 18, 2018

A Century Ago, Wood-Eating Worms Devastated San Francisco Bay

The battle against them is still being waged today.

October 15, 2018

The Original 'Humungous Fungus' Is Even Bigger and Older Than We Thought

But it's not the biggest.

October 12, 2018

Dead Whales Once Saved Polar Bears From Climate Change, But Not This Time

Less sea ice and fewer whales mean a grim outlook.

October 10, 2018

The Great French Mustache Strike of 1907

Parisian waiters had to fight for the right to manly whiskers.

October 5, 2018

Found: An Ancient Roman Comic Strip With Speech Bubbles

“Alas for me! I am dead!”

September 28, 2018

City Cats Might Not Be the Rat-Control Option We Thought They Were

But they're still bad news for birds.

September 27, 2018

Desert Ants Can Remember Food Smells Like Gourmet Chefs

But they quickly forget the smells of their own nests.

September 24, 2018

Found: The Likely Birthplace of King Henry VII

Think of it as the first Tudor mansion.

September 17, 2018

What a South Carolina Ghost Story Says About Hurricanes and History

The Gray Man was a warning that it was time to leave.

September 14, 2018

Found: Evidence of the Oldest Beer Ever Brewed

It's possible that beer even came before bread.

September 12, 2018

It's Rosh Hashanah, and a Ukrainian Town Is Bursting With Jewish Pilgrims

For the first time, Israel has opened a temporary consulate to help manage the chaos.

September 10, 2018