November 19, 2021

‘Hobo Code’ You’ve probably heard of the hobo code: distinctive coded messages left for other hoboes—transient laborers who rode the rails. Popularized in the late 1800s and early 1900s, hobo code supposedly consisted of distinctive symbols to communicate vital information: aggressive dogs, clean water, or a good place to camp. In many family stories, hobo code is established as fact. But did hoboes actually leave secret messages like these? It’s a question Charlie Wray of Salt Lake City has been trying to answer.  READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Turkey Tails We’re less than a week out from Thanksgiving, which means that for most of us, turkeys all around the country are being prepped for serving at the dinner table. But one part of the bird never makes it: the tail. But while Americans don’t tend to eat turkey tails—also known as the pope’s nose or sultan’s nose—they’re a national dish in Samoa. How did imported turkey tails become a favorite among Samoa’s working class? READ MORE → IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IGOURMET Flavor Trip with Gastro Obscura Bring the tastes of Gastro Obscura home with you in our new A Taste of Gastro Obscura snack box! Inside, you’ll find 13 culinary wonders from around the world, hand-picked by our team. Discover everything from New England’s canned bread to flavor-tripping miracle berries of Burkina Faso to the transformative butterfly pea flower from Southeast Asia. This is a limited edition box, so snag yours while supplies last! ORDER NOW → GASTRO OBSCURA Indigenous Cuisine in North America From the Cree of the Great Plains to the Chinantec of Oaxaca, these communities have endured and kept their culinary traditions alive in spite of centuries of oppression. To taste both the past and future of North America’s original food, look no further than these restaurants, where indigenous chefs celebrate their history, their communities, and their land. Here are 18 places that serve indigenous cuisine, across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. READ MORE → LONDON, ENGLAND Audley Square Spy Lamp Post During the Cold War, the Soviet Union’s KGB had numerous agents at work in London. While some could operate under diplomatic cover, many others did not. These “illegal” agents, after gathering their information, left their reports at selected drop sites, also known as dead letter boxes. One such dead letter box was an inconspicuous lamp post in Audley Square, just outside the University Women’s Club at No. 2. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Taxidermy for Art & Design Step inside the studio of Allis Markham, an award-winning taxidermist and educator, to learn the art, science, and ethics of preserving animals for integration into art and design work. In this detailed lecture series, Allis will take students through the process of tanning leather, bleaching skulls, and more. ENROLL NOW → FROM THE ARCHIVES Saving the Giant Sable For the Angolan people, the giant sable—a curly-horned antelope—is a national symbol, adorning everything from soccer jerseys to postage stamps. But this giant sable, which arrived dangling beneath a helicopter, represented something even greater: hope. This bull, along with nine female giant sables, would comprise the world’s first captive breeding program for the nearly extinct animal. READ MORE → BERGAMO, ITALY House on Rock This house took the term “cornerstone” to a veryliteral interpretation. One of these houses in the village of Dezzo di Scalve is built on top of a massive boulder, and the houses on its left and right are built around its contour. The oldest record of the village consists of a report from 1586, which includes a drawing of the village—and yes, that same boulder is featured in it, which means that the boulder has been a part of this village for more than 400 years. READ MORE → FROM THE ARCHIVES Presidential Photo Tricks Abraham Lincoln had a problem. During his 1860 campaign as a Republican candidate for the American presidency, without popular dissemination of photographs, many of the country’s citizens could only guess at what he looked like. Which, of course, led to rumors of his ugliness—and people were mean about it. So in order to combat these rumors, Lincoln turned to photographer Mathew Brady to pose for what would soon become one of the first widely disseminated photographs of the future president. That photo was… shall we say… artificially altered with special effects to help quash those rumors. Talk about Photoshop before its time. READ MORE → QUINCY, FLORIDA The Town of Coca-Cola Millionaires A small town in Florida was once the richest town per capita in the United States, all thanks to one shrewd businessman who urged his fellow townspeople to invest in Coca-Cola shares while they were still cheap during the Great Depression. The Coke shares helped save the town of Quincy from the worst of the Great Depression, keeping the farming town afloat during hard times with its Coca-Cola dividends. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA EXPERIENCES Inside NYPL's Rare Book Room In this online experience, we'll dive into the archives of the rare books and manuscripts collections at the New York Public Library. This event will stream live from the Rare Books Division research room in the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan! GET TICKETS →