Sarah Laskow's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

Sarah Laskow

Former Atlas Obscura staff writer

2015
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Meet Brooklyn's Internet Bonsai Kingpin

Paul Graviano has been making trees tiny for almost half a century, and does not plan to stop.

Found: A 1,600-Year-Old Shipwreck Full of Treasure

Rare statues and thousands of coins.

Found: A Rare, Backwards Tornado That Spun the Wrong Way

Very few tornados rotate clockwise.

Meet the Fish That Made America Great

The sad saga of shad, Revolutionary America’s favorite fish.

Found: Mysterious, Empty 'Ghost' Ship

An oil tanker washed up on shore.

The Hidden History of America's 19th-Century Mania for Panoramic Prints

Itinerant artists made almost 5,000 views of 2,400 different places.

Found: A Fugitive of 48 Years, Outed by His Social Security Application

It was a good run.

Found: A Napoleonic War Diary Hiding in a Bookstore in Tasmania

No one knows how it got there.

Found: A Golf Course Sinkhole That Could Be Part of a Secret Network of Caves

Johnny Morris is going to keep digging until he finds out.

Every Spring, Montana's Abandoned Mine Shafts Open Giant Holes in the Ground

A depression in the backyard could be an abandoned mine shaft hundreds of feet deep.

Found: A Surprise David Bowie Left for Fans on His Last Album

A black star turns into a starscape.

How One Photographer Finally Convinced a President to Give Him Full Access

The job was meant to be capturing official handshakes, but it turned into documenting history.

Found: An Incredibly Rare and Giant Violet Diamond

Most diamonds are colorless.

Found: Captain Cook’s Ship

Rhode Island researchers may have finally pinpointed the ship's resting place.

How to Raise an Army by Debasing Your Currency and Screwing Your Neighbor

During the 17th century "Kipper und Wipper" crisis, German states made bad coins and tried to pawn them off on neighboring states.

Surgery's Open Secret: It Smells

The patient never knows what odors come from inside.

Found: A Mesmerizing Jellyfish With Bright Yellow Gonads

Found: James Monroe's Actual House

It wasn't the modest house standing on his estate, as previously thought.

The Most Beautiful Tulip in History Cost as Much as a House

Owning a Semper Augustus tulip was the ultimate flex for a 17th-century Dutch citizen.

Found: Rare Footage of the Beatles Obsessing Over Their Hair

It's all about the sideburns.

Found: Harper Lee’s Own Article About the ‘In Cold Blood’ Murders

It didn't have a byline.

Why Bears Will Save Cherries From Climate Change But Not Apples

Some plants need help from animals to outrun climate change.

Found: A 1994 Computer Game Starring Prince

It's full of hidden wonders.

Audubon Made Up at Least 28 Fake Species to Prank a Rival

The prank's full extent—11 fake fish, 3 fake snails, 2 fake birds, 1 fake mollusk, 2 fake plants, and 9 fake rats—is only now clear.