May 12, 2022

ATLAS OBSCURA PUZZLES  Master Maze Maker  Michelle Boggess-Nunley moved from an office job to life as a professional artist a few years ago, which led her back to a childhood passion: hand-drawn mazes. The Grosse Pointe, Michigan-based artist now holds the Guinness World Record for the biggest hand-drawn maze—around 1,500 ft long, so large that it had to be photographed panoramically, wrapped around a soccer field, for the final submission. We spoke with Boggess-Nunley about how she got into mazes, how you stay one step ahead of solvers, and what it was like to make a single maze—in public—for months. The conversation, of course, was a-maze-ing. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA PUZZLES Deciphering Ancient Standing Stones If ever an alphabet could be described as “edgy,” it would be Ogham, the ancient script that appears on stone monoliths in Ireland dating to between the fifth and seventh centuries. About 330 Ogham monoliths survive, mostly in Ireland, with a few in the western parts of Great Britain. Ogham is readily readable today, which brings us to our language puzzle of the week: Can you decipher the Old Irish names of these plants? START PLAYING → THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST The Maiden of Deception Pass In this episode, we visit a statue erected to commemorate the Samish people and one of their most memorable traditions. Thousands of years ago, a young woman named Ko-kwal-alwoot crouched beside tide pools, looked into the water, and saw a face looking back at her that wasn’t her own. Today, her descendants are still telling the story of what happened next. LISTEN ON OUR SITE →    LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS →    LISTEN ON SPOTIFY →    LISTEN ON STITCHER → LOOK AT ‘EM GO! Tumbleweed Tornado In April 2020, Matt McKnight was driving Bessie, his Westfalia campervan, on State Route 240 in Washington when he encountered something he hadn’t wagered on: dozens of tumbleweeds whipped into a vortex, and heading right for the van. Tumbleweeds are commonly seen on American highways—but this was something else altogether. READ MORE → EAGLE HARBOR, MICHIGAN The Jampot When it comes to monastery-made products, Europe gets most of the glory. But Americans in search of sacred sweets don’t have to venture abroad. On the northern tip of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, a group of monks sells their delicious jams, jellies, and baked goods from a small storefront known as The Jampot. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Playing Ancient Games In this course led by Game Master and mythologist Dr. John Bucher, we’ll dive deep into the world of ancient games, exploring the symbols, cultural context, and uses of games played over 1000 years ago. We’ll look at the history and mythology that gave rise to them, as well as basic tenets of game theory and human psychology as they apply to game playing. ENROLL TODAY → GASTRO OBSCURA Hidden Histories of To-Go Art Believe it or not, takeout containers—especially for pizza, Chinese food, and sushi—have an iconic art and style. Granted, it’s not always the most elegant or politically correct, but some of these designs are now instantly recognizable. So, today, we investigate the origins of the smiling chef of pizza-box fame, the ubiquitous red pagoda of American-Chinese takeout, and the surprising elegance of plastic sushi trays. READ MORE → WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 'Conny The Whale' On the grounds of the Children’s Museum, a few minutes off of Route 84 in West Hartford, stands a life-sized, walk-in sculpture of a sperm whale—a fixture on the museum grounds for the better part of 40 years. “Conny” (named after the state of Connecticut) is 60 feet in length and appears to be a solid statue. However, as visitors follow the walkway around to the museum, they will find a trail that leads to a large entryway on the whale’s body. READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA TRIPS Explore the Birthplace of Pizza Naples is a city of vivid beauty, but, perhaps more importantly, it is the birthplace of the singular miracle of Neapolitan pizza–the world’s original pizza. We’ll learn the art of pizza-making from a true Napoli master and then sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Aside from pizza, we’ll also visit local vineyards and farms and even descend into the catacombs. BOOK NOW → LOST ARTS A Race to Save Norway’s Stave Churches To step into one of Scandinavia’s surviving stave churches is to enter the past. As early as the 11th century, builders began erecting these churches—also known as stavkirker—all over the region. Archaeologists believe there were once nearly 2,000 stave churches, but today, fewer than 30 remain. As the number of churches dwindled, so did knowledge of the complex ancient technology needed to maintain them. To preserve the surviving churches, researchers and conservators have had to piece together a lost craft. READ MORE → UTAH Checkerboard Mesa In the southeast of Utah’s Zion National Park lies a set of colorful sandstone hills with an unusual pattern of crosshatched cracks. A grid-like erosion process gave this formation its name: Checkerboard Mesa. This majestic hill towers some 900 feet above the road, and its patterning is the result of processes that have been ongoing for millions of years. Reaching a thickness of more than 2,000 feet in places, the sandstone is the result of ancient sand dunes that have been compressed into rock. READ MORE → SPONSORED BY VISIT MISSISSIPPI Hattiesburg Pocket Museum Countless cultural institutions folded under the effects of COVID-19, but only a few were born as a direct result of them. Count the tiniest museum in Mississippi among them. Conceived as a COVID-safe way to drive tourism, the Hattiesburg Pocket Museum is a 36” x 48” window in a downtown alleyway with only four display shelves, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in charm. LEARN MORE →