March 12, 2021

Grand Canyon Caves Many of the millions of visitors snapping selfies on the Grand Canyon’s rim have no idea that the ruddy limestone cliffs are pockmarked with hundreds of caves. The network within the steep walls is filled with hidden reminders of the region’s cooler past, since for tens of thousands of years, these hard-to-reach crannies have provided the perfect home for wood rats, birds, and now-extinct mountain goats and sloths. These conditions create an ideal preservation environment, allowing researchers to peer back into over 40,000 years of history and get a sense of a world that existed when much of North America was covered in a thick sheet of ice. READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Hot Sodas In the early 20th century, soda fountains had become wildly popular in the United States. They were in drug stores and department stores, on steamships and trains, and Americans were said to have spent $700 million annually at soda fountains. But the gargantuan soda-fountain industry had a problem: Every year, as soon as the temperature dipped, sales and profits did too. So each winter, soda fountains recommended what they called “hot sodas,” which could mean anything from hot eggnog to hot mint juleps to a “Reeking Smatch”. READ MORE → ERCOLANO, ITALY Vintage Market of Pugliano In search of an original khaki military jacket or camouflage trousers from World War II? An open-air Italian market has you covered. The market of Pugliano is one of Italy’s best-stocked spots for secondhand clothes and military surplus items. It dates to 1944 and the post-WWII years, when American troops left clothing and supplies behind in warehouses outside the city. Ever since, these items have been sold along this street-long market, which sits just outside Naples. READ MORE → The End of an Iconic Valley? The Italian town of Sorrento is known for the Valley of the Mills, a deep gorge jacketed in lush, dense vegetation with abandoned ruins. The centuries-old ruins are beloved, with an iconic six-story building becoming one of the most famous abandoned places on the Internet. We would know—more than 2,700 people have marked it “Want to Go” on our Atlas Obscura database. In 2019, local papers announced that the long-abandoned ruin of the Valley of the Mills was going to be restored to some kind of former glory. But what does this mean for the identity of the mill—and for the iconic Valley of the Mills as a whole? READ MORE → In the Shadow of the Alps Nestled in the foothills of the Alps, Italy’s Piedmont region is home to a rich, centuries-old culinary culture rooted in local and seasonal ingredients, thoughtful preparation, and meals enjoyed with others. Join us as we wind our way from Turin to Langhe to explore Piedmont’s dynamic and variegated gastronomic landscape, and come prepared to dig deep into this delicious corner of the country, diving into a hands-on cooking class, dining at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and glimpsing into the world of food photography. READ MORE → MURMANSK, RUSSIA Kola Superdeep Borehole From 1970 to 1994, Soviet scientists chipped slowly away on the Kola Peninsula to create an Earth-shattering record at the time: the deepest hole in the world, which extends down a staggering 7.5 miles. That’s roughly a third of the way through the Baltic continental crust! READ MORE → Video Game History Video games straddle the line between fantasy and reality. No other media allows a spectator to become the main character and explore every inch of a world. So it’s only natural that there are real-world, physical monuments to games and their creators. Here are eight, including a glorious seaside monolith commemorating the 10-year anniversary of one of the largest, most complex multiplayer online role-playing games, and the world’s largest classic arcade. READ MORE → NIIGATA, JAPAN Niigata Rice Cracker Museum A rice cracker notable for its banana-like shape, bakauke is a very popular snack in Japan. It was introduced in 1990 by Befco, then known as Kuriyama Beika Co. It quickly became the company’s biggest success, and is a product of Niigata Prefecture. Today, this snack factory boasts several tributes to its popular line of rice crackers, including a quasi-shrine called Bakauke Inari that’s flanked by the company’s mascot characters, Barin and Borin. READ MORE →