May 27, 2022

GASTRO OBSCURA  Consider the Stone Crab  Here’s a fun fact: Crabs are among those animals that perform a miracle known as autotomy. When facing a predator, they give up a body part they can regenerate, including claws that detach along a break point perfected by evolution to leave a critical diaphragm intact. Over the next one to three years, the claws regenerate, until the crab can once again use them. This fact is useful for trivia nights, sure. But it’s also useful for the fishermen harvesting claws from these crabs, spawning claims that this is “renewable” seafood. How sustainable is it, though? Opinions vary.  READ MORE → MILLBURN, NEW JERSEY South Mountain Fairy Trail Intricate little fairy houses, made mostly of natural materials, line a stretch of trail in the South Mountain Reservation park near Millburn, New Jersey. These minute birdhouse-like creations feature teeny chairs made of acorns, ladders made of twigs, beds made of moss, and roofs made of tree bark. Walkers can expect to find them tucked within the tangle of trees along the trail’s edge. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES | STARTS 5/31 Curate Your Personal Collection Museums tell deliberate stories. In this four-part seminar with Alexis Hyde, former curator and Director of the Museum of Broken Relationships in Los Angeles, discover how to bring museum-making into your home and learn to curate a collection of your own. This course will help you incorporate museum systems and philosophies into your life and collections. ENROLL TODAY → MAGNIFICENT MARKETS The Biodiversity of A Bogotá Market The Plaza Samper Mendoza, once a parking lot and now dominated by a basic, warehouse-like building, is unique. Open on Mondays and Thursdays, its vendors sell only plants and herbs traditionally used in folk medicine, including esoteric applications, and cooking. It’s also the only market in Bogotá—or, for that matter, in any Andean capital—that opens after sunset, and it’s a living plant archive of hundreds of species, and a rich repository of plant lore and other traditional knowledge. READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA A Guide to Aquatic Dining Fact: The vast majority of the world’s restaurants’ occupy just 29 percent of the earth’s surface (the part that is land). But whether they give diners the same view as eels and shrimp, or put them within spray distance of a powerful waterfall, these eight restaurants creatively occupy the other 71 percent of the world’s real estate. Dive in! READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA TRIPS Machu Picchu and the Last Incan Bridges Trace the living legacy of the Incan Empire as you journey to the spectacular ruins at Machu Picchu and visit one of the last Incan Rope Bridges. In Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, delve into the enduring Inca influences on modern Peruvian culture. You’ll soar above the mysterious Nazca Lines etched in the desert and feel the morning mist as you walk the Inca Trail. BOOK TODAY → CHASING FOSSILS The Fossils That Get Away Stan is very big, very old, and very popular. Roughly 65 million years young, Stan long ago retired from trampling, stalking, and gnawing across a steamy landscape of palms and gingkoes, and tussling with family. Like many other retirees, Stan now lives a life of quiet leisure, though Stan is doing it from a prime, street-facing perch at Christie’s auction house in New York City. Stan is a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton—a very complete, very expensive one—and when the whole skeleton went up for auction in October 2020, the sale rankled many experts, who worried that the prized specimen would disappear into a private collection. READ MORE → BRYSON CITY, NORTH CAROLINA The Road to Nowhere The Fontana Dam, rising above the Little Tennessee River in western North Carolina, is the tallest dam in the eastern United States. It was a long and winding road to getting the dam built, and what was lost during the journey can be seen in the nearby “Road to Nowhere.” Watch for the sign that reads, “Welcome to the Road to Nowhere—a broken promise! 1943 - ? →” READ MORE → THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST The Livestock Living at the End of the World Today, we’re learning about the pigs that were once plopped on in New Zealand’s uninhabited Auckland Island, known for hosting shipwreck survivors. The pigs now play an important role in modern medical research. GAMES GALORE Fiery Victorian Christmas Games In the 19th century, Christmas looked a little different. For holiday fun, revelers in the United States and England scared their friends with ghost stories, told fortunes, and played boisterous party games. One such game, snapdragon, is rarely part of anyone’s Christmas these days. After all, it involves pulling sweets from a puddle of flames. It’s lit. READ MORE → WHITE OAKS, NEW MEXICO No Scum Allowed Saloon In a largely deserted ghost town, a little brick building recalls its history as a gold rush hub and haven for the Wild West’s outlaws, including the infamous Billy the Kid. READ MORE → SPONSORED BY TRAVEL NEVADA Your Itinerary to Tonopah, Nevada Tonopah is located halfway between Las Vegas and Reno. You’ll know you’re going in the right direction if, on your way up from Vegas, you pass Rhyolite ghost town and an alien-themed truckstop. But what do you do when you’re there? We’ve got the lowdown, from a Western adventure featuring the Clown Motel to a forest of cars. READ MORE →