Samir S Patel's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

Samir S Patel

Former Editor in Chief, Atlas Obscura

atlasobscura.com

2017
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year in wonder 2022

In 2022, We Wanted to Tease That Brain of Yours

Some of our favorite crosswords, logic puzzles, and language challenges from the first year of AO Puzzles, with more to come!

January 2, 2023

2022 Was Another Scary Year, and We Have the Spooky Stories to Prove It

From oomancy to human hematophagy, we got weird, wondrous, and wicked this year.

December 29, 2022

Why Horror Is So Damned Fun

We go inside Denmark’s Recreational Fear Lab to learn why our brains crave a good scare.

October 26, 2022

Announcing Atlas Obscura Puzzles!

Each Monday we're going to tease that brain of yours.

the year in wonder 2021

From Killer Clams to Roman Emperor-Detectives, Atlas Obscura's Year in Books

Our excerpts are great reads and invitations to new worlds.

December 17, 2021

Welcome to Atlas Obscura's Fright Club!

We love the month of October, so we're giving you 31 days of stories that will get you in the Halloween spirit.

October 1, 2021

Introducing: The Atlas Obscura Book Club With Literati

Finding Wonder is for explorers of places and ideas around the world and across history.

Looking for Inspiration to Explore the World in 2020?

Atlas Obscura staff highlighted their must-sees for the coming year (and we'd love to see your lists, too).

January 3, 2020

As the Year Winds Down, Let Us Help You Dream About Your Next Adventure

Through the new year, Atlas Obscura will highlight our staff’s favorite places of the moment.

December 20, 2019

Why We Will Not Have Been Able to Attend Stephen Hawking's Time Traveler Party

At least, not in this universe.

December 24, 2018

To Build a Better Mosquito Trap, First Put a Cow in a Tent

Then pipe its scent to a warm decoy.

October 15, 2018

A New Edition of 'Frankenstein' for Scientists, Mad and Otherwise

This newly annotated edition of the classic novel shows that each age gets the monsters it deserves.

Wishlist: Ghost Paper Notebook

For all your writing and sketching needs, or when you just want to look cool in a coffee shop.

December 19, 2017

eclipse madness

To Take an Eclipse Photo Like This at Home, You Have to Build Your Own Observatory

Your next chance is in 7 years.

August 22, 2017

eclipse madness

The International Space Station Had Two Views of the Eclipse

And cast a shadow of its own.

August 22, 2017

Midday Naps Are Key to Infant Learning (and Parental Mental Health)

Scientists learned just how much sleep a baby needs to tell a “Zuser” from a “Bofel.”

The 60-Mile 'Hail Scar' Left by a South Dakota Storm

Balls of ice cause hundreds of millions of dollars in crop damage each year.

The Spirited Life and Sad End of the First Indian-American Children’s Book Author

Dhan Gopal Mukerji was a prolific writer and an early cultural ambassador between East and West.

The World's Trashiest Beach Is on a Remote Island in the South Pacific

And yes, we should all feel terrible.

The First Step to Getting Rid of Invasive Lionfish? Listen Closely ...

Scientists have recorded the "roar" of the unwanted reef predators.

The Crab Nebula Is Ready for Its Close-Up

Five telescopes were used to make a special new image, and only one of them is on Earth.

Lettuce for the Dead in a Tidy, 4,000-Year-Old Egyptian Funeral Garden

The find is the first of its kind.

A Giant Permafrost Crater Grows in Siberia

It's yet another canary in the climate coal mine.

obscura day 2017

How the Leatherdykes Helped Change Feminism

A brief history of lesbian sadomasochism, from the shadows to the front lines of the “Sex Wars.”