Sarah Laskow's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

Sarah Laskow

Former Atlas Obscura staff writer

2015
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Found: The Wright Brothers' Lost 'Flying Machine' Patent

Misplaced for 36 years, the patent was in a cave in Missouri all along.

Found: A Second North American Settlement That Was Likely Vikings

Satellite imagery led archeologists to a site that shows Viking-like activity.

Found: Ancient Non-Stick Pans

A pottery dump at Cumae reveals that red-slip pottery is the best to cook chicken in.

Where Should Robots Go When They Retire?

Behind the push to create a robot museum in Pittsburgh.

Found: Faulty Bolts at a Nuclear Plant

An inspection at Indian Point revealed 220 faulty bolts.

Found: The Universal Expression for 'Yeeeeah…No'

This is the "not face."

Searching for the Last Bottles of a Cult-Classic Dr Pepper

Is Dublin Dr Pepper truly gone?

Found: 68,000 Smuggled Python Skins

They are worth around $48 million.

Lost: The Mystery of Shakespeare's Skull

There's an "odd disturbance" at one end of the Bard's grave.

How Did One of Ireland's Most Historic Flags End Up in New York?

The winding story of the tricolor flag that flew over Dublin's 1916 Easter Rising.

Found: A Shipwreck That Solved a Decades-Old Maritime Mystery

The "mystery tug boat" was a U.S. Navy ship that had disappeared without a trace in 1921.

space exploration

Found: A Lake of Frozen Nitrogen on Pluto

At least, it looks an awful lot like a lake.

Wheat's Evil Twin Has Been Intoxicating Humans For Centuries

Darnel is poisonous, but in small enough doses can give food a special kick.

Found: Supermassive Black Holes' Superfast Space Winds

The equivalent of a Category 77 hurricane.

A Gas Pipeline Could Make Marfa's Mystery Lights Disappear

They might be in danger after 130 years.

Found: 30,000 Cars in One House

One man's collection included teeny models and full-sized classic cars.

Found: A Crucifix That Could Change Christian History

It's dated to the early 900s.

Meet Auntie Litter, the Rapping, Recycling Hero From My Childhood

Her "reuse, reduce, recycle" chant stuck in my head for years.

These Magic Bags Turn Pee to Goo And Make Poop Portable

Welcome to the frontier of human waste management.

secret passages

Found: Two Secret Rooms in King Tut's Tomb

After new scans, researchers are 90 percent sure they're there.

notes from the field

Found: A Creepy Note From a House's Former Inhabitant

"I WILL ALWAYS BE WATCHING YOU," the 15-year-old note read.

Found: Oldest Neanderthal DNA Ever

Scientists solved a case of missing identity: who were these 430,000-year-old hominins?

Found: Fairy Circles in Australia

The mysterious phenomenon shows up on a new continent.

Oklahoma's Greatest Ponzi Scheme Bred Hoards of Unwanted Worms

Never trust a man who says he'll triple your investment in composting worms.