September 23, 2021

The Artifacts Hidden in Ice In the world’s high mountain regions, life needs ice. From the Rockies to the Himalayas, glaciers and other accumulations of snow and ice persist throughout the year. These ice patches transform barren peaks into biological hot spots, where they can also act as natural deep-freezers for artifacts lost in the ice. For thousands of years, they can store snapshots of the culture, daily life, technology, and behavior of the people who created these artifacts. But as mountain ice melts, small groups of archaeologists are scrambling to cobble together the funding and staffing needed to identify, recover, and study these objects before they are gone.  READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Edible Flowers Ah, flowers. Most of us use them as decorations, a stem or two in a vase at a dining table. But occasionally, flowers end up alongside or atop the food. Author Monica Nelson dives into the world of edible flowers in an upcoming book Edible Flowers: How, Why, and When We Eat Flowers, covering the history and common use of florals as food. May your culinary skills blossom further. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA EXPERIENCES Underwater Happy Hour: Sharks Sharks! Our popular Underwater Happy Hour event returns as we explore the world of the New York Aquarium's Ocean Wonders: Sharks! exhibit. Expert hosts Stephanie Joseph and Ethan Angelica will dive into the vital role sharks play in our aquatic ecosystems. LEARN MORE → COLARES, PORTUGAL Cabo da Roca Situated in Portugal’s Sintra-Cascais National Park is the westernmost point of mainland Europe. When the earth was thought to be round and have a beginning and an end, many believed that Cabo da Roca was one of the ends of the known world at the time. And what an “end” it is—rugged cliffs meet the Atlantic Ocean in this place of natural beauty, where sea, land, wind, and forest come together to create a unique atmosphere. READ MORE → Celebrate Hispanic and Latino Heritage Hispanic Heritage Week was first established in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1988, the Reagan Administration expanded it to 30 days, and from then on, September 15 through October 15 has been known as Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. The celebration was designed to highlight the history, contributions, traditions, and heritage of U.S. residents whose ancestors hail from Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean, Central, and South America. From trails and murals to the largest collection of Spanish art and manuscripts outside of Spain, these are 15 fascinating places to celebrate Hispanic and Latino heritage. READ MORE → THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST Rödstensgubben In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, during a trip to Sweden, producer Sarah Wyman digs into a superstitious story passed through generations—about the Red Stone Man. It's a little bit early to get spooky, but we're doing it! Strap in. ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA McKee Grave Thomas Hudson McKee joined the army in 1861 in Independence, Pennsylvania. He fought in the Civil War and was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in November 1862. McKee’s wife had an apparent distaste for his superior officer, Brigadier General Benjamin Franklin Kelley, who was buried in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery. So when her husband passed away in 1924, Nancy McKee erected an enormous memorial directly in front of Kelley’s as a form of payback for his mistreatment of her husband. READ MORE → FROM THE ARCHIVES Food Crime In the 1930s, New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia decided to take on the Sicilian American mafia by banning a product that he claimed posed a “serious and threatening emergency to the city.” This substance, at the time available in any city market, was controlled by “a monopoly of doubtful legality” (in other words, the mafia). The product in question was… the baby artichoke. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA EXPERIENCES Learning the Language of Art: Performance Art Deciphering performance art is not as complicated or mysterious as it can often seem. Join art lecturer Regina Mamou, from Art Muse Los Angeles on a journey to explore the ideas behind works of performance art. Join us for a fun, unpretentious, and participatory show. LEARN MORE → CORONADO, CALIFORNIA Hotel del Coronado The “Hotel Del,” as it is known to locals, is just across the water from San Diego. It’s one of the only surviving examples of an American genre of architecture, the wooden Victorian beach resort. Most famously, writer L. Frank Baum stayed in the hotel while writing parts of his Wizard of Oz series. READ MORE → CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA Hoia-Baciu Forest Warped trees fill this forest, making it seem as though they’re reaching out to touch you. Given its eerie atmosphere, it’s no wonder the Hoia-Baciu Forest is said to be one of the most haunted forests in the world. Some even call it the “Bermuda Triangle of Romania.” READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA TRIPS Searching for Russia’s Northern Lights In the forests of northern Russia, the night sky routinely transforms into a spectacle of neon green-and-pink bands of light: the Northern Lights. In search of this natural phenomenon, we’ll journey to Murmansk, the capital of the Arctic. We’ll visit frozen waterfalls, sleep in glass-roofed cabins, and soak in a traditional Russian banya. And each night, we’ll cast our gaze to the sky in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the aurora’s otherworldly glow.