May 13, 2022

HELLO, JELL-O Aspics With Threatening Auras  Few foods today feel as anachronistic as the gelatin “salads” (a catch-all term for dishes sweet, savory, and everything in between) of midcentury America. As with so many things considered cutting-edge from the early to mid-1900s, this former food of the future is now a subject of derision and morbid fascination. The appeal lies in juxtapositions that feel, well, wrong, or in modern internet parlance: “cursed.” How does the fascination with aspics reflect American culture today? And how is that different from its peak of popularity in midcentury America?  READ MORE → BIG CAT STORIES Jaguars In The American Southwest That’s not as unlikely as you might think. Jaguars are the only species of big cat found in the Americas, and while they roamed as far north as the Grand Canyon in the United States, today the northernmost breeding population is in the northwest Mexican state of Sonora, just south of the border with Arizona. But there’s a chance that jaguars might make it back to their old stomping grounds; scientists monitoring the big cats in northwestern Mexico see potential paths to reintroduction across the border. READ MORE → BIDDEFORD, MAINE Palace Diner Almost 100 years ago, the Palace Diner would have moved. It would have parked outside one of the then-functioning textile mills in Biddeford, Maine, when each shift let out. The barrel-roofed, stainless-steel car would have bulged with row after row of exhausted, sooted workers eager to stifle the day’s hunger. They would have lined up behind one another as each finished their toast, eggs, and bacon on one of the diner’s 15 stools. Today, the mill is a converted workspace, but people still line up to eat at the same diner every day. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Creating Crossword Puzzles Join crossword creators Natan Last and Brooke Husic for a behind-the-scenes, step-by-step look at how a themed, American-style puzzle goes from a collection of concepts to its final presentation. Together as a class, we’ll co-create a crossword of our own that will be published on Atlas Obscura that you can send around to your family and friends. ENROLL TODAY → CODEBREAKERS CENTRAL Secret Code What’s the secret to eternal life? Well, we could ask the 16th- and 17th-century alchemist and physician Arthur Dee, but first, we’d have to crack his devious cipher. Dee created a coded text hiding the alchemists’ recipe to the elixir of life—what those in the profession call the “Philosopher’s Stone.” It remained unsolvable for centuries—until this year, when a group of scholars banded together to pick apart the code’s secrets. Hi, Hollywood, we’ve found your next movie. READ MORE → BETHESDA, MARYLAND Congressional Country Club Like any good spy, the Congressional Country Club in Maryland appears at first glance to be a perfectly ordinary golf course, with verdant landscaping and a respectable membership. But slumbering beneath this quiet cover is an explosive history of secret agents, wartime espionage, and the birth of what would go on to become the Central Intelligence Agency. READ MORE → FREE MEMBERS-ONLY EVENT | 5/15 An Introduction to Japanese Calligraphy In this live virtual workshop, Japanese calligraphy artist Aoi Yamaguchi will introduce us to the engaging and meditative art form of Shodō (書道) and set us up with the tools necessary to pursue a deeper practice. If you aren't a member yet, you can sign up during the RSVP process for this event. RSVP TODAY → BREAD HISTORY Italy’s Saltless Bread Ask anyone from central Italy what is distinctive about their local bread and you’re almost certain to hear the same thing: “È senza sale”—”It is without salt.” But if you go on to ask someone from Tuscany, Umbria, or Marche (three central Italian regions where most towns bake unsalted bread) why that is, you’re not going to hear a universal, accepted answer. You might hear stories about trade wars or tax-avoidance strategies between the ninth and 15th centuries, when most of the peninsula was governed by autonomous city-states. But none of these explanations tell the whole story. READ MORE → DEANS, SCOTLAND Dechmont UFO Monument and Trail On November 9, 1979, Robert Taylor was walking his dog through a path to a newly planted forest area north of the hill known as Dechmont Law when he happened upon a flying dome hovering above the forest floor. The last thing Taylor remembered as he was dragged to a larger dome was a strange choking smell that overpowered him. When he arrived home, Taylor’s wife called the police, who treated the incident as an assault and conducted a criminal investigation. It’s the only UFO sighting in the United Kingdom that has ever been classified as a criminal investigation. READ MORE → SPONSORED BY TRAVEL NEVADA UFO Country, in Photos State Route 375 is a quiet stretch of Nevada highway that runs near the top-secret U.S. Air Force installation commonly known as Area 51—a facility that has spawned all sorts of whispers surrounding secret government programs and alleged alien crash sites. This mythology has created a landscape unlike any other, studded with landmarks and roadside attractions that have become part of the lore of the desert. Expand your worldview with a selection of photos of out-of-this-world sites. READ MORE →