August 25, 2021

Rewilding an Irish Estate The grounds of Dunsany, a 650-hectare (1,600-acre) estate in the middle of Ireland, is the site of Ireland’s most ambitious attempt at rewilding on private land. It’s an attempt to recreate a vanished landscape in a swath of County Meath, 20 miles northwest of Dublin, and helping at the helm is Lord Randal Plunkett, the 21st baron of Dunsany. The 38-year-old, who was once a steak-eating, bodybuilding death metal fan with no interest in land, is now vegan and on an environmental mission. Seven years ago, he decided to turn over 300 hectares of his estate to nature—no livestock, planting, sowing, or weeding.  READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Honey Made ‘by Bees and Angels’ To the untrained eye, this nectar looks like the typical golden syrup almost every American family has in their homes. But this is no ordinary honey. In fact, it’s unique to the Blue Ridge Mountains, produced from pollen provided by the sourwood trees that grow exclusively in the area. The sourwood’s amber and greenish-tinted nectar has a distinctive gingerbready flavor with mint and anise undertones, and has been described as “being made by bees and angels,” a phrase that encapsulates this rare and highly desired artisan honey. READ MORE → RICHMOND, VIRGINIA The Grave of Oderus Urungus Near the entrance to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond Virginia, visitors will find a flat stone large enough for a full-size depiction of a man wearing fantasy armor with a sword laid over the body. This is the cenotaph, or memorial stone for Dave Brockie, frontman and founding member of the heavy metal band, GWAR. As the character Oderus Urungus, Brockie spent his life traveling the world and performing as a space monster until he passed away in 2014. READ MORE → Mysterious Coral The Palmyra Atoll is about 1,060 miles south of the Hawaiian archipelago in the equatorial Pacific. It’s a haven for an astonishingly diverse spectrum of species, but for the past couple decades, the reefs have been overrun by creatures we know very little about: corallimorphs, which are closely related to corals, except without the hard parts. In Palmyra they’ve been outcompeting and even actively killing their cousins—smothering them like a blanket and throwing reef habitats out of balance. But unlike other reef threats, such as invasive lionfish or algal blooms, not much is known about corallimorphs. READ MORE → CEDAR, MICHIGAN Sugar Loaf Ski Lodge This shuttered ski lodge is still filled with hastily-scribbled paperwork, snow-stained lift tickets, slightly-faded race bibs, and sun-washed vintage posters. It feels like it was instantly abandoned, leaving an ever-present snapshot of that moment in history. READ MORE → ODESSA, UKRAINE Darth Vader Statue Located in an old factory courtyard on the outskirts of the port city, this statue of Lenin was scheduled for demolition until Alexander Milov — a local artist whose work was featured at Burning Man in 2015 — proposed a different solution: encasing the existing Lenin statue within a new titanium facade, creating the world’s first monument to Darth Vader. READ MORE → CÁDIZ, SPAIN Baelo Claudia Baelo Claudia checks the box for multiple kinds of travelers—the surf and sun set and the culture and history nerds alike. This site is considered the most comprehensive Roman ruin on the Iberian Peninsula, and includes a partially restored Roman amphitheater that once sat 2,000 temples built in honor of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. It also hosts a fourth temple devoted to Isis, the most powerful of the Egyptian gods. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA X UNCOMMON GOODS Secrets of the Game Makers Join game designer Jonathan Bobrow from Move38 to take a look at a specific game designer's trick. Jonathan will talk about where you may have encountered this trick in some of your favorite games, and discuss why it works and how you can engage with it. LEARN MORE →