September 01, 2021

Losing the Arctic’s Soul Every summer, a small-scale seasonal melt event occurs at the lower-elevation edges of the Greenland Ice Sheet, an expanse of more than 650,000 square miles that’s second only to the Antarctic Ice Sheet in size. But this year, daily melt rates shot up seven times higher than normal. In the satellite image above, the left side of the image is a warning of what’s to come. The Greenland Ice Sheet, like the rest of the Arctic, is trapped in a feedback loop caused by climate change: As more ice melts, it creates conditions for even faster, more extreme melt events.  READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Rice Art Landscape In the spring, hundreds of volunteers in Inakadate, Japan, meticulously plant shoots to create, over a period of several months, a huge living canvas on which a painting materializes. Epic rice-based pictures spring to life, from beloved Star Warsdroids to scenes from local films. This is the art of tanbo, or rice-paddy art, and it’s part of a push for village revitalization. Talk about art that serves to rice to the occasion. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA EXPERIENCES Global Moves: Haka Come haka with us! Learn the traditional war dance of the Māori people of New Zealand. Haka incorporates full-body movement, voice, facial expressions, self-expression, mind, breath, spirit, posture, and action. Don’t miss this chance to learn about one of the most enlivening dances in the world, and experience the power of this cultural phenomenon! LEARN MORE → BERGAMO, ITALY Cappella Colleoni On the front gate, the sarcophagus, and the walls of Cappella Colleoni in Bergamo, you can see the coat of arms of the Colleoni family, which consists of: three testicles. The origins of this unusual coat of arms likely stem from the etymological connection of the family name Colleoni and coglioni, the vulgar Italian term for testicles. Why three, though? READ MORE → 7 Stone Spectacles in Georgia At the heart of every peach rests its stone center, or pit. So perhaps it’s fitting that Georgia, the Peach State, holds a wealth of stone-based treasures of a different sort, like in Walker County, where a labyrinth of limestone passages leads to the deepest cave drop in the continental United States. Or in Calhoun, where a rock garden of spectacular sculptures hides behind a church. Whether carved by hand or nature, these stone wonders truly rock. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Making Scents: Experimental Perfumery In this 3-part course, led by Saskia Wilson-Brown, the founder and director of The Institute for Art and Olfaction, you’ll learn the basics of perfumery and lab safety, explore properties of fragrances, and create a small perfume accord of your own. LEARN MORE → SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA Vic's Ice Cream Parlor Opened in 1947, this ice cream parlor and diner retains its original post-war atmosphere and the inclusion of phosphates—a soft drink containing a bit of acid phosphate to give it a tangy zip. Originally promoted as health tonics in the 1860s, phosphates fell out of favor with the decline of fountain drinks and the advent of bottled soda. Vic’s is one of the few places that still serves this beverage. READ MORE → FROM THE ARCHIVES Hidden History During World War I, the Golden Fourteen was made up of 14 Black women who were the first to serve in the U.S. Navy. Of the few archival records that exist of the Golden Fourteen, one thing is clear: In a period when stepping out of line could have violent repercussions for Black women, they worked without drawing attention to themselves—which meant their stories were largely forgotten. But thanks to the tireless efforts of a few veterans and descendants, that could soon change. READ MORE → THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST Big Bertha Drum In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit the controversially named Big Bertha at the University of Texas, the world’s biggest bass drum—once made radioactive by the Manhattan Project. HENDERSON, NEVADA The Simpsons House In 1997, a joint promotional contest saw Fox and Pepsi raffle off a fully-realized replica of the cartoon house that Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson call home. Constructed in an otherwise nondescript housing division, the builders watched over 100 episodes of The Simpsons to get every detail just right, and it shows. The interior was completely recreated as well, with the exact decorations that can be seen in the Simpson home in the show, right down to the front room couch and the pink walls. READ MORE → ISLAS MARIETAS, MEXICO Hidden Beach Playa del Amor, commonly known as the Hidden Beach, looks like something out of a fantasy novel: a wide, sandy cavern with the blue waters of the Pacific rushing in. The beach is a feature of the Marieta Islands, a group of uninhabited islands formed by underwater volcano eruptions. They are natural wonders, but it was something other than the volcanic activity that brought the burrowed beach to light. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA TRIPS Taste New York's Diversity Take a deep dive into the rich neighborhood life of Queens. As NYC’s largest and most diverse borough, small, local eateries and family-run businesses are at the heart of Queens. From a banquet dinner in the borough’s bustling Chinatown to a behind-the-scenes visit to a Central Asian Jewish bakery, you definitely won’t end this culinary adventure still hungry. LEARN MORE →