August 11, 2021

Life Under Ice The Thwaites Ice Shelf—an extension of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet that protrudes from the coastline, 1,000 feet thick in this location and 2,000 square miles in area—floats on the ocean. In 2019, scientists arrived to measure currents that are melting this ice from beneath. But they would soon discover something else entirely: an entire world made of strange communities that cling to the underside of the ice. Our friends from bioGraphictook a peek.  READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Apple Scoops These tools may look rough, but in the right hands they could be surprisingly precise. Behold, the apple scoops with a very practical purpose: In the days before widely accessible dentures, they allowed the elderly and toothless to enjoy fresh apples without straining their remaining teeth. Apple scoops were crafted from the most accessible of materials: sheep bones. And they could be easily made at home. Talk about DIY. READ MORE → NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE Hermitage Hotel Men's Bathroom Nashville’s historic Hermitage Hotel offers guests afternoon tea in the grand lobby, down-filled duvets, a 2,000-square-foot presidential suite, and most famously an award-winning set of toilets. The public lavatory is the head (so to speak) of its class, winning “Restroom of the Year” (a nationwide accolade given by bathroom supply kings Cintas) on a number of occasions. READ MORE → THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST The World’s Oldest Living Things There are a lot of things in this world that have withstood the test of time. Ordinarily, you might think of artifacts in museums, preserved through the centuries. But out in the natural world, time has enshrined itself in living creatures, including 3,000-year-old living rocks in Australia and a 9,000 year old spruce tree in Sweden Redwoods. Join artist Rachel Sussman on a tour of the world’s oldest living things, which she’s been documenting for 10 years. LISTEN ON OUR SITE →    LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS →    LISTEN ON SPOTIFY →    LISTEN ON STITCHER → FROM THE ARCHIVES Abandoned Atlantic City Sites Boardwalk. St. Charles Place. Atlantic Avenue. If you grew up playing Monopoly, you’ll be familiar with these place names. While they may sound like they’re from a generic U.S. city, dreamt up by the game’s inventor, they exist in real life—in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But they are no longer what they once were. READ MORE → LEŚNIEWO, POLAND Leśniewo U-Boat Locks Before World War II saw the historical region of Masuria in East Prussia fall into Polish hands, German engineers had long dreamt of building a canal to connect the Great Masurian Lakes to the Baltic Sea. Construction of the Masurian Canal eventually began in 1911 but was interrupted by war and political turmoil in Germany—until the war put an end to the project, seemingly for good. Today, the canal’s partially completed locks are scattered across northern Poland and Russia’s Kaliningrad oblast. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Japanese Floral Art Join Asae Takahashi, certified instructor and founder of HANADOJO, for an introduction to the history and art of Ikebana, an ancient form of Japanese floral art. Dating back at least 600 years, Ikebana is deeply rooted in an appreciation of nature and inspired by fluctuations in the natural world across the four seasons. LEARN MORE → FROM THE ARCHIVES Small Goat Stars Depending on who you ask, a Nigerian Dwarf goat is a better pet than a dog. (Opinions vary, obviously.) First imported from West Africa in the 1930s, the breed has become one of the most popular dairy goats in America, kept in all 50 states. They’re beloved for their docility, friendliness, intelligence, blue eyes, coats that vary widely in pattern and color, and more importantly—rich milk. For many urbanites and suburbanites with limited land, the breed brings the dream of backyard livestock within reach. READ MORE → ANTARCTICA Pegasus Wreck On October 8, 1970, the pilots of the Pegasus, a C-121 Lockheed Constellation plane, knew they had a problem. A fierce storm was ravaging the air above Antarctica, but they didn’t have enough fuel to boomerang back to New Zealand. The Pegasus eventually crashed, with all 80 people on board miraculously surviving. Now, anyone who happens to find themselves near the McMurdo Station can try to take a trip to the crash site, where the Pegasus is still there, resting beneath a blanket of snow. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA TRIPS Tracing the Roots of an Imperial Cuisine Lisbon is one of the world’s greatest food cities. Journey beyond the city’s tiled buildings and narrow streets to discover Lisbon’s long legacy and vibrant innovations in culinary inventiveness. Enjoy iconic egg-custard pastries and visit Roman ruins with local archaeologists. LEARN MORE →