December 20, 2022

RESURRECTING HISTORY  Making Ancient Armor  Dimitrios Katsikis has spent the past 12 years designing and forging malleable metal.  Using only traditional techniques, Katsikis has replicated the armor of antiquity for display in museums, devoting himself to the art and craft of ancient Greek armor.  His ambition grew out of his passion for ancient Greek military technology—and the realization, after viewing extensive museum collections of armor from other European countries, that there were few examples of intact Greek armor on display.  So far, he’s recreated 60 items of military gear, from the helmets of Mycenaean warriors to the cuirasses, or breastplates, of Byzantine knights.  READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Our Favorite Recipes of 2022 As we wrap up 2022, we’re looking at some of our favorite recipes that we’ve published this year. They span countries and even history—from transforming flowers into jelly like a French forager to savoring the flavors of a rare cuisine from modern-day Jordan, there’s something for every cook to try. Maybe your holiday will involve swapping out the gingerbread for tomato soup cake. (Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.) READ MORE → CLEVELAND, OHIO Old Cleveland Aquarium In the mid-1950s, Cleveland’s east side was home to the Cleveland Aquarium, which originally offered 50 displays of freshwater fish. But by the 1970s, funding had dried up, making the aquarium’s future unknown. By 1985, the aquarium had closed, and after, it was used by the Cleveland Police Department as a dog training facility until it was officially vacated and left to slowly crumble within itself. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Taste Chocolate Like a Connoisseur In this three-part seminar, join chocolate sommelier Sophia Contreras Rea for a journey through the rich history of cacao. We'll cover the art of chocolate making and tasting, and the many ways people have taken pleasure in and made meaning from chocolate. ENROLL TODAY → ATLAS OBSCURA PUZZLES Pass The Gates to Win Many of the challenges in Puzzle Communication Nikoli, the world’s most influential puzzle publication, involve drawing a long, looping line according to a simple set of directions. That’s the basis of Slalom, where the goal is to draw a single loop through all the gates on the puzzle grid—a loop that never crosses itself, branches off, or passes through the same cell twice. Good luck. PLAY NOW → POTSDAM, GERMANY Grave of the Potato King Walking the grounds of Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, you might stumble across a peculiar gravestone that is covered with potatoes. Perhaps even more confusingly, the stone bears the name of King Fredrick the Great of Prussia. While this may seem odd, it is actually a sign of respect and gratitude to Der Kartoffelkönig (“the potato king”). READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA TRIPS A Mexico City Culinary Adventure On this culinary adventure in and around Mexico City, immerse yourself in the complex cultural identity of a metropolis where pre-Hispanic, colonial, and contemporary influences collide. From enjoying tacos al pastor while taking in a hidden Diego Rivera mural to learning more about heady Aztec brews, our focus throughout will be food and the people who make it. BOOK NOW → CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS Find The Christmas Pickle Here’s an idea for the next time you’re at a holiday party with your family and friends. If there’s a Christmas tree present, grab a pickle and hang it somewhere in the branches. On Christmas morning, the first person to find the pickle receives an additional gift, or the privilege of opening the first present. It’s supposedly a German tradition, and is particularly popular in the Midwestern United States, but it’s often met with raised eyebrows by Germans. READ MORE → PORTO, PORTUGAL Carmo and Carmelitas Churches What looks like one enormous church is actually two separate buildings, with a hidden three-foot-wide house separating the two structures. Local guides give two different reasons for the skinny house’s existence: Some chalk it up to an old law stipulating that two churches couldn’t share a wall, while others say the strange home was erected to keep the nuns and monks from getting too cozy with one another. And you thought your apartment was small… READ MORE → THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST Tumbleweed Christmas Tree Sure, you’re familiar with the traditional Christmas tree that smells like pine. But here’s a decidedly non-traditional Christmas tree that looks like it’s made of tumbleweeds. Because—well, it is. Join us as we visit Chandler, Arizona, where Christmas means a tree made entirely of the diaspore of the western plant known widely as tumbleweed.