January 12, 2023

PIG HISTORY  Save the Hogs  Ossabaw Island is a human heart-shaped landmass roughly 20 minutes by boat off the coast of Georgia. It’s home to Ossabaw hogs, feral pigs whose DNA remains virtually unchanged from when Hernando de Soto and his fellow conquistadors brought 13 pigs with them to North America in 1539; while other feral hogs interbred with their domestic counterparts, these hogs remained isolated. It’s resulted in a race to save them from extinction, which culminated in a chain of events that can only be described as a pig heist: an epic undertaking to save the Ossabaw hog involving swine smuggling, birthing piglets in a bathtub, and a rather creative interpretation of the law.  READ MORE →   GASTRO OBSCURA ‘Chop Suey Sundae’ Chop suey is a classic Chinese-American meat and vegetable dish served with rice, and by the early 20th century, entrepreneurial Chinese chefs had made it a standard at restaurants across the United States. But fear not—the ‘chop suey sundae’ does not actually contain meat and vegetables on top of ice cream. What it actually does contain, however, is an ever-shifting list of ingredients, including and not limited to dried and preserved fruit, nuts, syrup, figs, dates, walnuts, and more. READ MORE →   CORTENOVA, ITALY Villa de Vecchi Just east of Lake Como, nestled against the forested mountains of Cortenova, sits a house that’s said to be haunted. Villa De Vecchi, alternately nicknamed the Red House, Ghost Mansion, and Casa Delle Streghe (The House of Witches), was built between 1854-1857 as the summer residence of Count Felix De Vecchi. Within a few short years of its completion the house witnessed an inexplicable string of tragedies that would forever cement its gothic legacy. READ MORE →   ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Learn How Trees Communicate In this three-part lecture series with Annie Novak, we’ll explore what tree communication actually means, rooting our understanding of this extraordinary natural phenomenon in plant evolution, biology, and chemistry. We’ll learn about the fundamentals of fungal networks, the power of hormones, and how science is really just catching up with a conversation millions of years in the making. STARTS TONIGHT SO ENROLL NOW →   A QUICK REMINDER Shave Your Beard, Lest It Kill You That’s what happened to Hans Steininger, a 16th-century burgomaster (town mayor) of Braunau am Inn, a town on the Austrian-German border. Much about his life and role as a leader have not survived the centuries since his death, but his incredible beard, which is said to have been over four and a half feet long, looms large in the town’s cultural memory, especially since it’s said that he died when he stepped on it, sending him down a flight of stairs and dying. READ MORE →   ICELAND Pylsur Punch up your hot dog game this year with pylsur, which features a triumvirate of meats (lamb, pork, and beef); two kinds of onions (crispy-fried and raw); and a selection of condiments, including ketchup sweetened with apples and special sauce known as remolaði. No one’s quite sure how the hot dog came to Iceland, but it’s an institution. READ MORE →   THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST Chicago Bridge Houses In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we learn a little known part of the lives of the people who operated Chicago’s famous drawbridges—how they lived, and where they worked.   LEGENDS AND MYSTERIES 12 Mysterious Graves Often, when a gravestone is erected, it’s to offer a memorial of sorts to someone’s life. A fitting end note, something to remember them by. Sometimes, though, there are graves that do less of that, and ask more questions than offer answers. From a cursed memorial to a statue that is said to turn to look at passing cars, these graves contain a great deal of mystery about them. READ MORE →   KUTZTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA Crystal Cave Billing itself as “the most popular natural attraction in Pennsylvania,” this small, family-owned cave has been a local icon for decades, owing to its child-friendly set up and folksy guides. The cave itself can only be accessed through tours, which last less than an hour and contain a mixture of history, folklore, and geology (with special emphasis on the rock formations that look like animals). The cave also contains scientifically impressive stalagmites and stalagmites, a bat population, and plenty of the eponymous crystals. READ MORE →   ATLAS OBSCURA TRIPS Ancient Ruins to Modern Culture Looking to explore a new country this year? Join us on a classic Greece trip, which will take you to all the must-sees from the Acropolis to the Monasteries of Meteora to Ancient Olympia, making sure to connect these ancient sites with modern-day Greece by opening the door to modern-day culture. Be ready to connect with the community, experience traditions first-hand, and dig into hyper-regional food culture — this is Greece after all, a foodie’s dream! BOOK NOW →