May 06, 2022

ARCHAEOLOGICAL REVELATIONS  Revealing Ancient Sudan’s Past  Discussions about ancient history in Africa are often dominated by the rise of Egypt. But there were several societies that rose to great power in the Nile River Valley since the middle of the third millennium B.C., including the ancient region of Kush, which rivaled and, at times, conquered Egypt. There’s been a relative lack of modern attention paid to this civilization, but today, archaeological work performed at Tombos, in northern Sudan, reveals the stories of people who lived more than 4,000 years ago—and inspires new interest from the people who live there today.  READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Montreal’s Legendary Melon In its day, the Montreal melon was the Champagne of melons. Some whole melons weighed more than 40 pounds, and the Queen of England received one every year, carefully wrapped in a wooden basket designed to protect the delicate fruit. But then it disappeared. Then it came back before dying again. But now its offspring is being grown once again, resurrected by a group of Trappist monks in an abbey northeast of the city. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Making Scents Experiment with the basics of perfumery during this three-part course. Delve into the history of perfume, explore aromatic materials, and create a short perfume formula. Get your nose ready and explore this craft with us! ENROLL NOW → SMITHVILLE, TEXAS Giant 'Luecke' Signature Flying above Eastern Texas from Houston to Austin, air passengers gaze down to find a giant word spelled out with over three miles of trees, each letter stretching thousands of feet in each direction. This humongous geoglyph, spelling out the last name of local landowner Jimmie Luecke, is the world’s largest signature, and has been used by the U.S. government to analyze its satellite imagery. (Does this prove that everything is, in fact, bigger in Texas? Let us know.) READ MORE → FAKE IT ‘TIL YOU MAKE IT Forged Sculptures If you’ve seen any of Michelangelo’s artworks in person, you have probably felt the same awe that millions of pilgrims to the Sistine Chapel have experienced, while staring up at his singular ceiling frescoes. With masterpieces like the Pieta and the astonishing statue of David, he is decidedly one of the most influential artists in the history of the western world. But what most people don’t know is that, at the beginning of his career, Michelangelo was a forger. That’s one version of the story, anyway. READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA TRIPS Tracing the Roots of an Imperial Cuisine Lisbon is one of the world’s greatest food cities, and you’ll experience the very best of it on this unique adventure. You’ll enjoy iconic egg-custard pastries, baked in the shadow of historic convents, and venture far past the city center to get an insider perspective on fresh-from-the-water seafood at the city’s bustling ports. BOOK YOUR TRIP → CLIFTON, SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES Happy Island Located just off the shallow coast of Union Island in the Grenadines is the home of Janti Ramage, a local visionary who built the tiny outpost into a singular bar sitting on a foundation of scavenged conch shells that were once a problem in the area. Beginning in 2002, Janti began gathering up conches and similarly-sized rocks on a shallow part of a nearby reef, eventually creating his own private retreat dubbed “Happy Island.” READ MORE → WILDLIFE Who’s A Good Dog? On the Mongolian steppe, there are predators, there are prey, and there are the bankhar. For 15,000 years, bankhar dogs have been the guardians of the steppe, safeguarding both sheep and livestock. But during the era of Soviet socialist campaigns, that special connection between herder and bankhar dog was nearly lost, along with the bankhar itself. Now, an ambitious project aims to return bankhar dogs to their traditional role as livestock guardians. It’s an endeavor that may also give the Mongolian steppe, and its rich cultural traditions, a chance to thrive again. READ MORE → FREE MEMBERS-ONLY EVENT Monster of the Month: Goatman The Old Alton Bridge in Texas is known by locals as "Goatman's Bridge," named for a supposed cryptid that is part-goat, part-human. And Texas isn't the only place to lay claim to a goatman! Who are these mysterious monsters? We'll do our best to figure that out this month as we head out in search of the last descendants of the great god Pan. If you aren't a member yet, you can sign up during the RSVP process for this event. RSVP NOW → CURIOUS CULT CASES Meet a Coconut-Obsessed Cult Leader In 1902, a student named August Engelhardt set sail from Germany with a suitcase full of books and a peculiar mission: to establish a new Edenic order on the sunbaked shores of Papua New Guinea. Paradise, he knew, existed on earth, somewhere along the equator, and the key to happiness was simple: Abandon your earthly possessions, move to a tropical island, become a nudist, and eat only coconuts. READ MORE → DUNCAN, BRITISH COLUMBIA World's Largest Hockey Stick & Puck The Cowichan Community Centre, in Duncan on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, boasts the largest hockey stick and puck in the world. Built in 1985, the 205-foot hockey stick is built from Douglas Fir wooden beams reinforced with steel, and weighs in at a staggering 61,000 pounds (28,118 kgs). READ MORE → SPONSORED BY VISIT MISSISSIPPI Blue Front Cafe There’s no stage here at the oldest active juke joint in Mississippi. Those brave enough to pick up a guitar in such a storied juke stand on the floor or sit in a chair to play. Faded photos and memorabilia lining the walls bring blues legends long-deceased back to life, and show the cafe’s proprietor, GRAMMY Award®-nominated Jimmy “Duck” Holmes—one of the last of the Bentonia Bluesmen—aging backwards. LEARN MORE →