April 28, 2022

HELMET HISTORY  Puffer Fish Helmets of Kiribati This is a te barantauti, a helmet from the island nation of Kiribati in the South Pacific, made of a dried, inflated puffer fish (or porcupine fish). Over the years dozens of these striking toppers have made their way into museums across the globe, having been snatched up by Western collectors, but scholars know relatively little about them or what they represent. After Kiribati gained its independence in 1979, this distinctive armoring tradition has been reclaimed as a potent symbol of local culture.  READ MORE → GASTRO OBSCURA Ancient Grape Storage Method Centuries ago in Afghanistan’s rural north, Afghans developed a method of food preservation using mud-straw containers. Known as kangina, people in remote communities who can’t afford imported produce are able to enjoy fresh fruit, like grapes, in winter months. The clay-rich mud, whose seal keeps out air and moisture like a Tupperware or ziplock bag, protects the fruit from the winter cold, and works best for certain types of grapes. Simple, yet effective. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Crafting Small Things The craft of making miniatures is a centuries-old art form. In this workshop led by artist and miniaturist Amanda Kelly of Panda Miniatures, we’ll learn the basic techniques of crafting miniatures while building a tiny replica of an abandoned site—a small stage upon which some morsel of history or imagined narrative has taken place. SIGN UP NOW → GMÜND IN KÄRNTEN, AUSTRIA Geteilte Kirche am Kreuzbichl (Divided Church) If you attend a service in the small Roman Catholic church Sankt Maria, you might find that the pastor has to pause the sermon for an unusual reason: A road runs through the middle of the church. While the pastor preaches his sermon in the sanctuary on the east side of the road, the churchgoers sit in the building on the opposite side of the road. READ MORE → STOP, POLICE! Puritan Fashion Rules Surprise, surprise, New England’s Puritan colonies had many laws restricting how citizens—particularly women—could dress. “Sumptuary laws” like these weren’t unique to that time or place; they had governed personal behavior as far back as ancient Rome. But Puritans, being Puritan, gave sumptuary laws a particularly moral cast. Dressing in a simple manner meant avoiding the sins of pride, greed, and envy, especially for women. Things to avoid: silver or gold hatbands, clothes with more than two slashes in sleeves, and frizzed hair, among other rules. READ MORE → FREE MEMBERS-ONLY EVENT Monster of the Month: Goatman The Old Alton Bridge in Texas is known by locals as "Goatman's Bridge," named for a supposed cryptid that is part-goat, part-human. And Texas isn't the only place to lay claim to a goatman! Who are these mysterious monsters? We'll do our best to figure that out this month as we head out in search of the last descendants of the great god Pan. If you aren't a member yet, you can sign up during the RSVP process for this event. RSVP NOW → THE BRONX, NEW YORK Thain Family Forest The Thain Family Forest, a 50-acre plot of trees within the New York Botanical Garden, is the largest surviving remnant of the city’s original woodland. The old-growth forest provides a rare opportunity to walk among trees that pre-date the American Revolution by centuries and has remained largely untouched. Step outside the bustling concrete jungle and onto these paths, which follow the original hunting trails of the Lenape Native Americans and pass by marks carved by glaciers thousands of years ago. READ MORE → STRANGE LETTERS Devil-Dictated Letters (Allegedly) In 1676, Sister Maria Crocifissa della Concezione had an infernal conversation with the Devil. When she came to her senses, the nun, who lived at a convent in Palma di Montechiaro in Sicily, found she had written letters in an indecipherable language. Its contents remained a mystery until 2017, when the LUDUM science museum in Sicily obtained a copy of it and subjected it to a more modern analysis, using intelligence-grade code-breaking software. The strategy worked: The letter turned out to be made of a jumble of languages that, when teased apart, could be read. READ MORE → THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST The Last Tenement In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit the Last Tenement in Boston’s old West End, which used to host one of the city’s most diverse communities, but has since come to represent everything that can go wrong with urban planning. MANUSCRIPT REPAIR How Do You Repair Old Parchment? Very, very carefully, is the answer. Medieval manuscripts have all sorts of interesting quirks, from strange marginalia to dazzling jeweled bindings, and the basis of most of these books, parchment, has its own story. Creating parchment is a lengthy process, which does mean it’s sometimes susceptible to tearing. It also opens itself to an entire realm of realm of creative fixes, including stitching, using other pieces of parchment, or even incorporating the holes themselves into illustrations. READ MORE → ALAJUELA, COSTA RICA Territorio de Zaguates (Land of Strays) Up in the mountains, Territorio de Zaguates celebrates the unique mix of each stray dog it takes in. Veterinarians at the free-range shelter did their best to analyze the mutts’ physical traits to take a guess at the breeds they might contain. They then gave each dog their own unique pedigree, with names like the “Furry Pinscher Spaniel” and the “Freckled Terrierhuahua.” The shelter has grown in popularity, and sponsors hiking events where visitors can frolic in the mountains with hundreds of pups. READ MORE → SPONSORED BY TRAVEL NEVADA Garnet Hill Rockhound Area The area around Garnet Hill in eastern Nevada might be a bit off the beaten path, but it’s worth the journey. After all, when rockhounds go looking for garnets in these low-slung hills, they rarely come back empty-handed—like some kind of crystalized wildflowers, the raw gemstones, or “buds,” seem to spring from the volcanic rock around the perimeter of Garnet Hill. READ MORE →