September 03, 2021

Portable Nuclear Power Sixty years ago, the U.S. Army tried using portable nuclear power at remote bases. It, uh, didn’t go so well. One made a nuclear mess in the Antarctic. Another blew up during refueling. A reactor still sits 12 miles from the White House, with estimates that it’ll cost $68 million to clean up. Now, the military is considering new mobile reactors and exploring the possibility of using portable land-based nuclear reactors again. Here's a short history of the practice. READ MORE → Swamp Kings The Frenchman Formation, located in Saskatchewan, is a bonanza of late Cretaceous fossils. Iconic species, such as three-horned Triceratops and armor-clad Ankylosaurus, have been found eroding out of these hills alongside “Scotty,” one of the largest known Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons. For decades, however, the environment these animals inhabited has been a question mark. Now, thanks to tiny details preserved in fragments of amber, scientists have a whole new view of Scotty’s world—namely, that this part of Canada would have felt like coastal South Carolina 66 million years ago. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES September Courses This month we have put together a collection of 16 online courses that provide deep, dynamic learning in under-explored disciplines—from decolonizing travel and tree identification to global cocktails and ancient recipes. Designed and taught by subject-matter experts like Hadley Meares and Aaron Sanders Head, these live, interactive courses provide unique opportunities to explore niche topics and arts. Join us; you’re sure to emerge with new skills, knowledge, connections, and perspectives. EXPLORE ALL COURSES → LODI, CALIFORNIA The Original Home of A&W Root Beer A&W had a humble start, for what was to become both a root-beer behemoth as well as the first-ever franchised restaurant chain. Roy Allen, a hotelier by trade, bought a root-beer recipe and ingredients from a pharmacist in Arizona in 1919, and in 1919, he began selling root beer to townsfolk during a parade. His original root-beer cart is long gone, but a plaque in front of the Beauty of the Beast Pet Salon at 13 Pine Street commemorates the spot. READ MORE → FROM THE ARCHIVES A Haunted Doll Here is something that most people would agree is true about Robert the Doll: He’s terrifying. His careworn face is only vaguely human. His nub of a nose looks like a pair of pinholes. He is covered in brown nicks, like scars. His eyes are beady and black. He wears a malevolent smirk. Here are some other things that people also agree is true about Robert: That he’s haunted and that he has caused car accidents, broken bones, job loss, divorce and a cornucopia of other misfortunes. READ MORE → THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST Arecibo Observatory When it came to telescopes, there were few as awe-inspiring as the one at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. At 1,000 feet (305 meters) across and 167 feet deep, the Arecibo telescope was once the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world, and it was at the center of some of the more famous projects in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. But today, it is lost to both scientists and everyday Puerto Ricans. MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE Heather Street Wright Houses In 1950, architect Frank Lloyd Wright began designing a house for his friend, Dr. Isadore Zimmerman and his wife, Lucille. Wright designed the structure around a single concrete slab, incorporating the unique rocks and geological features of New Hampshire. But the Zimmerman House is just one of two Wright homes on this street. The presence of the Kalil House, which was built five years later, allows visitors the fascinating chance to compare the evolution of Wright’s architectural style. READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Italy’s Malaysian Food Scene Two years ago, Justin Yip opened the first Malaysian food truck in Italy. In many ways, his truck, Sate and Sake, is the antithesis of Italy’s food culture. Selling traditional satays and currys to the robust student population of Turin, Malaysian-born Yip stands for fast-casual foreign fare in the home of three-ingredient masterpieces and the Slow Food movement. He’d hoped to build a business by feeding Asian exchange students. Instead, it’s the Italians themselves who are the backbone of his clientele—over 90 percent, by Yip’s estimate. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Decolonizing Travel Culture Where, why, and how we travel are decisions with real-world impacts. In this four-part course, travel writer Bani Amor will break down the case for decolonizing travel culture and explore the roles we can all play in this movement. From examining how maps and travel texts have given rise to a distorted view of the world to tracing the enduring legacy of human zoos, we’ll consider how travel practices both reflect and can be used to dismantle oppressive power structures. Starts this Sunday, September 5. ENROLL TODAY → SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA Santa Cruz Surfing Museum A lighthouse on the north tip of Monterey Bay houses a museum that chronicles the history of surfing, an ancient Polynesian sport that made its entry into the U.S. in Santa Cruz. It was introduced during the hot summer of 1885, when three teenage Hawaiian princes escaped from their boarding school classes, hopped on a train, and headed to the ocean. READ MORE → FROM THE ARCHIVES A Mysterious Clue “No food, no foot gear, and several hundred miles to the ship,” wrote Jørgen Brønlund, the last survivor of a three-man sledge team that perished in 1907 during the Denmark Expedition to survey far northeastern Greenland. Brønlund, an Inuit native of Greenland, managed to walk to a depot that had been prepared ahead of time, seeking shelter in a cave though he could go no farther due to frostbite and darkness. His body was found four months later, along with his diary, which held a tell-tale black material on the last page: a clue to the doomed explorer’s last moments. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA TRIPS Forest to Table in Alpine Slovenia Forest to table dining has been a way of life in Slovenia for centuries. We’ll season our own schnapps, take a crash course in beekeeping, and craft a charismatic cheese—all while learning the intricacies of collecting fresh herbs, plants, and fungi from a top-tier forager. Experience the best forest-grown flavors of this alpine country.  LEARN MORE →