November 17, 2022

WELLESLEY ISLAND, NEW YORK Just Room Enough Island  When islands get really small, they sometimes barely even count as islands, and so some places actually have criteria that the landforms must meet to be officially considered islands, and not just tiny little scraps of land. Just Room Enough Island meets these standards—but just barely. The name is quite fitting, really. The island has just enough room for its single house.  READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Yum, Jellyfish How do you get the general Italian public interested in eating jellyfish? It’s not a simple task. Selling jellyfish for human consumption is prohibited in the European Union, as regulators still do not consider the sea creature a safe, marketable food due to historical lack of interest in them as a food source. Can jellyfish become a food of the future, not just for adventurous diners eating at upscale restaurants, but for all? READ MORE → UNUSUAL DOLLHOUSES Miniature Crime Scenes The kitchen is well equipped and stocked. There’s a stove, a refrigerator full of food, a table with a rolling pin and a bowl, and a sink with Ivory soap. But there’s something else: Every item is miniature, hand-crafted, and a doll lies on the floor, apparently dead, cause unknown. This is one of Frances Glessner Lee’s Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of 1/12-scale dioramas based on real-life criminal investigation cases. READ MORE → SPONSORED BY DISCOVER ATLANTA Milledge Fountain Today, Milledge Fountain is an elaborately tiled and gently babbling fountain that greets park goers in the northwest corner of Atlanta’s sprawling Grant Park. Built in 1927, it’s likely the oldest fountain in the city—so old, in fact, it was first known as “Horse Drinking Fountain.” LEARN MORE → STRANGE SCANDALS The Lover in the Attic In April 1930, the Los Angeles Times began publishing what would end up being months’ worth of eye-popping details from an exceedingly strange court case. It involved a “comely” woman named Dolly, her murdered husband, and her lover, a man known as the “garret ghost” who, at Dolly’s behest, lived a “bat-like life in hidden rooms.” The story of how the three were intertwined is worthy of the era’s most lurid pulp novels. READ MORE → NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA Jean Lafitte's Old Absinthe House Step into this bar, and you might be able to imagine the meeting between Jean Lafitte—a pirate operating out of the Gulf of Mexico—and Andrew Jackson, the general preparing New Orleans for its role as the final battleground in the War of 1812. Two hundred years later, The Old Absinthe House stands almost exactly as it did that night of Jackson’s meeting with Lafitte, and it refuses to give up its place in history, nor its role in securing ours. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Taste Honey Like a Sommelier Join beekeeper and premier honey sensory expert C. Marina Marchese and learn how to taste and describe honey like an expert. We’ll cover everything from the honey, its floral sources, and terroir to human psychology and physiology—exploring how both internal and external factors influence the way we experience each drop of honey. ENROLL TODAY → WHAT DID YOU SAY? Québec’s Catholic Swears Odds are that if you live in Québec, you’ll have to speak French. But the profanity, though, is pure Québec. Québec’s swearing vocabulary is one of the weirdest and most entertaining in the entire world. It is almost entirely made up of everyday Catholic terminology—not alternate versions, but straight-up normal words that would be used in Mass to refer to objects or concepts—that have taken on a profane meaning. READ MORE → SCOTTSBORO, ALABAMA Unclaimed Baggage Center Ever wonder what happens to unclaimed baggage? One place it goes to is Scottsboro, Alabama, to the Unclaimed Baggage Center, where previously lost or forgotten items find a new home. After a predetermined search period, most major airlines reimburse customers for lost baggage after which any found luggage—and its contents—can be sold. The same rules apply to unclaimed cargo. READ MORE → SPONSORED BY VISIT SEATTLE A Seattle Spot For Everyone From world-famous views to hundreds of hidden gems, whatever type of adventure you’re looking for, you can find inspiration throughout the Emerald City. From culinary corners bursting with bright flavors to stores fostering experimental music, here are local-approved spots to punch up your Seattle itinerary. LEARN MORE →