June 30, 2022

CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CONSERVATION  Caring For Rwanda’s Gorillas  In Eastern Central Africa, the Virunga Mountains stretch across the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a line of formidable volcanoes rising above verdant forest. This is the home of critically endangered mountain and eastern lowland gorillas, which continue to face threats from poaching, habitat destruction, climate change, and other human activity. There is reason for cautious optimism, however: The numbers of some populations have increased over the last decade, thanks largely to a dedicated conservation effort that includes the men and women of Gorilla Doctors.  READ MORE → CHILL OUT Ice Cream With A Side of Culture While most ice cream parlors are content to serve up scoops of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, some enterprising sweet aficionados have taken matters to inventive—and often wildly delicious—new heights. And why shouldn’t they? So here are our picks for confections that are defined by a genuine sense of place, from a Serbian ice cream parlor swirling rakia and poppy seeds into their cones or a Mexico City shop known for scoops with hoja santa. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Learn Like Nobody’s Watching Pick up bird taxidermy skills at 2 AM! You can learn anytime, anywhere, with our new On-Demand Courses. This exciting new format allows you to learn anytime, anywhere at your own pace. In our on-demand bird taxidermy course, award-winning taxidermist and educator Allis Markham will teach you the art of taxidermy from start to finish. START LEARNING → ATLAS OBSCURA PUZZLES Indigenous Fare Crossword You’ve been tickling your brain with our fortnightly puzzles—and now, we’re diving into our first from Gastro Obscura. This puzzle comes to us from creators Stella Zawistowski and Brooke Husic, and editor Laura Braunstein, members of Inkubator. Founded in 2018, the organization publishes crossword puzzles by women and nonbinary constructors. START SOLVING NOW → DUNDEE, SCOTLAND West Bell Street Car Park Today this plot of land is the Bell Street Car Park and Abertay University, but it used to be a giant burial pit built to accommodate the victims of the typhoid and cholera epidemics that swept the United Kingdom in the 19th century. There was a headstone that once stood here, but has since been removed for its historical significance. This was the grave marker of William Bury,who was speculated to be Jack the Ripper. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA TRIPS | NEW FOR 2023 Discover The Colors of India Rajasthan is India at its most colorful. This adventure uncovers every shade of the rainbow as you gaze upon rosy Hawa Mahal and its 953 windows, roam the ornate mosaic halls of Amber Fort, and explore the dazzling "Blue City" of Jodhpur. Loop the “Land of Kings” from Delhi and back to spot leopards on a safari, wander street markets and bazaars, and experience the cultural maze of Jaipur. PLAN YOUR TRIP → TALK ABOUT ISOLATED San Francisco’s Quietest Spot Matt Allen is the lone human resident and caretaker of Brooks Island, a 373-acre parcel of land and water in the San Francisco Bay about a half-mile offshore from the city of Richmond. The islet boasts about two-and-a-half miles of hiking trail and only a few other resident non-mammal populations, including Western garter snakes, alligator lizards, and anise swallowtail butterflies. First job: Keep your sanity. READ MORE → SALAMANCA, SPAIN Cathedral of Salamanca's Astronaut This carving on the Cathedral of Salamanca is out of this world. Your eyes aren’t fooling you—that is indeed an astronaut. It’s an approved and modern addition to the Cathedral, however, it has all the earmarks of something which may provide for great confusion some 500 years from now. READ MORE → CULTURAL RESILIENCE Tokyo’s Only Ainu Restaurant Hidden among the bustling streets of central Tokyo, a dimly lit porch leads to a venue that feels a world away from the night-time scenes of the Ōkubo neighborhood. This small izakaya is Harukor, the only restaurant in Tokyo serving dishes made by the Ainu, a minority group that has faced discrimination ever since Japan invaded and annexed their native land of Hokkaido and fought with Russia over control of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the second half of the 1800s. READ MORE →