urvijabanerji's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Places added to Virginia City, Nevada
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Places added to Vanuatu
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Places edited in Argyll and Bute, Scotland
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Places edited in Kolkata, India
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Places added to The Bronx, New York
story
trucks

The Origins of 'Horn OK Please,' India's Most Ubiquitous Phrase

Why all of the trucks in India bear one seemingly nonsensical expression.
May 6, 2016
Gastro Obscura
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india

The Kati Roll Can Be Traced Back to One Kolkata Restaurant

How the kati roll went from street snack to global trend.
May 3, 2016
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linguistics

Singaporean English Is Almost Impossible to Pick Up

Wah lao! Why can't I speak Singlish?
May 2, 2016
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corners of youtube

Behold the Whoosh Bottle, Science's Coolest Fire Experiment

A corner of YouTube dedicates itself to videos of these bottles being set ablaze.
April 28, 2016
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sleep

Watching Sheep Herding Online is the New Counting Sheep

A mesmerizing video shows sheep flocking through New Zealand's grasslands.
April 26, 2016
Gastro Obscura
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spices

How Turmeric Became a Cure-All Product in India

The West's current health food trend is the subcontinent's millennia-old staple.
April 26, 2016
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video wonders

Workplace Safety Videos Got Pretty Horrific in the '90s

One shows workers being gored by factory equipment to a horror movie soundtrack.
April 22, 2016
Gastro Obscura
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combat

See What Soldiers Around the World Eat When in the Field

A corner of YouTube is dedicated to unboxing combat rations.
April 20, 2016
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video wonders

Chevrolet’s Misguided 1940 Attempt to Appeal to 'Fair and Weak' Women

A short film tried to measure the amount of work that women did around the home.
April 18, 2016
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sea monsters

Can You Spot all the Sea Monsters in this 16th-Century Map?

Beware the leviathan, and also that monstrous water pig.
April 18, 2016
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naval history

Catapult Into the Weekend Like this GoPro off an Aircraft Carrier

Watch a sled zoom off a Navy aircraft carrier and into the ocean.
April 15, 2016
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silent film

Fantasmagorie: The 'Bob’s Burgers' of 1908

Watch what historians consider to be the first animated cartoon in history.
April 13, 2016
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lasers

Watching a Laser Clean a Baking Tray is Surprisingly Satisfying

If only we had technology of this kind in all our kitchens.
April 11, 2016
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out there week

This 17th Century Map of the Skies is Bursting With Mythological Creatures

Feast your eyes on a stunning, hand-illustrated star chart from 1670.
April 11, 2016
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retro-tech

Yes, '90s Blockbuster Training Videos Really Were This Cringeworthy

Watch as a young employee in pleated slacks is criticized for her life choices.
April 7, 2016
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sailors

The Chinese Female Pirate Who Commanded 80,000 Outlaws

Ching Shih, who lived and pillaged during the Qing Dynasty, has been called the most successful pirate in history.
June 15, 2022
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freediving

A Vicarious Freedive With Seals in the Atlantic Ocean

Follow a diver during his swim with seals off the coast of Cape Town.
April 5, 2016
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lost cities

Lose Yourself in this Atlas of the World's Lost Cities

Cities that continue to stand long past their glory days are particularly poignant.
April 4, 2016
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video wonders

An On-Air Newsroom Ruckus at the BBC in 1989

"In the great tradition of television sport... let's just see that again."
April 1, 2016
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video wonders

Watch a Stunning Time Lapse of a Container Ship Gliding Around the World

The video is a glimpse of the ethereal world inhabited by these ocean behemoths.
March 30, 2016
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video wonders

Watch Molten Salt Melt Lead

Watch this mesmerizing video of liquid salt being poured over lead from shotgun shells.
March 28, 2016
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obscura day 2016

Inside the Packed Showrooms of a Prolific Map Collector

With 24,000 maps and 760 globes, Murray Hudson's cartographic stash is full of treasures.
March 28, 2016
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steampunk

Listen To A Tiny Machine From 1890 Make Birdsong

The whirs and ticks of a restored mechanical bird are oddly soothing, and very accurate.
March 25, 2016
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sloths

What Does A Sloth Sound Like?

If you've ever wondered what noise these adorable, slow motion creatures make, this is the video for you.
March 23, 2016