Sarah Laskow's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

Sarah Laskow

Former Atlas Obscura staff writer

2015
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A California Wildfire Whirled Into a 'Fire Tornado'

Wind speeds were as strong as 143 miles per hour.

The Disturbing Fate of a Planet Made of Blueberries

You'll never look at blueberry jam the same way again.

Found: The Oldest Public Library in Germany

Niches in the walls hinted at the building's past.

Cool, There's Water on Mars. But Does It Make Good Pickles?

What would happen if briny Martian liquid met an Earthling cucumber?

Found: A Cache of 18th-Century Rockets in India

One of the fiercest opponents of British colonialists had rockets unlike any his enemies had seen.

Siberian Worms Survived More Than 30,000 Years Stuck in Permafrost

The worms, all female, thawed out and started eating.

Why Fire Retardant Is Colored Bright Red

A California fire has closed down Yosemite National Park.

Why Build Your Railroad Around a Castle When You Can Just Go Through It?

Runaway railway expansion helped inspire Britain's preservationist movement.

Found: Liquid Water on Mars

It's probably about five times as briny as the Dead Sea.

Railyards Were Once So Dangerous They Needed Their Own Railway Surgeons

Feet, hands, and lives were at risk.

Charting the Succession of the 'True Church' Through History

Landmark Baptists believed that an unbroken chain of Christians kept alive the true teachings of the New Testament.

Found: One Very Big Foot

Paleontologists describe the largest dinosaur footprint ever found.

How the Mesmerizing 'Sibiu Eyes' Became a Protest Symbol in Romania

The eerie windows of one Romanian town are watching for political corruption.

Found: A Newly Discovered Shipwreck, Rumored to Be Full of Gold

In 1905, the Dmitri Donskoi sank off the coast of a South Korean island.

Why Some Gravestones Are Shaped Like Tree Stumps

When nature and secret societies get together.

One of New Zealand's Most Majestic Trees Is in Danger

Tāne Mahuta is one of the oldest kauri trees in the world.

A Lava Island Comes Into Being, For a Few Days

Hawaii's ongoing eruption created new land.

A 2,000-Year-Old Mystery Papyrus Reveals Its Secrets

For centuries, no one could read it.

Freud Gave Special Signet Rings to a 'Secret Society' of His Students

The seals depict Greek gods and—surprise, surprise—erotic scenes.

The Hidden Cropmarks of Wales, Revealed by a Drought

These unmistakable squares and circles are the remnants of settlements from as far back as the Bronze Age.

Rediscovering the Forgotten Whales of the Mediterranean Sea

Researchers uncovered evidence of the cetaceans at sites connected to the Roman fish-processing industry.

See a Giant Iceberg Fall Into the Sea

Scientists filmed the break-up of a Greenland glacier.

The Dangers of Train Yards, Through the Eyes of Railroad Employees

A collection of photos from the 1960s tried to show why locomotives need two people in the cab.

Seattle's Mystery Soda Machine Has Gone Missing

Will it ever return?