July 28, 2022

LOVE IT OR LOAF IT  Bread For Horses  The medieval English appetite for bread was likely nothing compared to that of medieval horses who would often devour coarse loaves of horse bread. This bread—typically a flat, brown bread baked alongside human bread—was once the best pre-industrial technology available for fueling England’s equine transport system from the Middle Ages up until the early 1800s. Fun fact: it was so logistically important that it was more highly regulated than its human counterpart. READ MORE → THIS ART ROCKS The Story of the Negev Desert The Negev Desert in Israel holds thousands upon thousands of rocks adorned with carvings, sometimes in isolated sites such as Har Karkom, and sometimes in the midst of modernity. The window of Negev rock art opens onto the cultural and spiritual world of people who have lived in the desert—hunters, shepherds, itinerant merchants—since at least the fifth millennium B.C. and through the modern period. It’s one part history book, one part art gallery—the story of people in a place, written and drawn on the landscape itself. READ MORE → JEVNAKER, NORWAY Kistefos Museum Located in Jevnaker, Kistefos is a museum and sculpture park with all sorts of bizarre and strange works of art. The museum spans 43 acres on the grounds of a wood pulp mill that was originally built in the late 19th century. Production at the mill ended in the 1950s, but the buildings were repurposed into part of the museum, with the mill becoming one of the galleries. READ MORE → ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Can You Spot The Lizard? In this 4-part lecture series, join Dr. Earyn McGee for a herping intensive, learning how to spot, identify, and photograph lizards in your region. You’ll learn about lizards across the U.S., key features for identification, and then go on a lizard-spotting adventure! ENROLL NOW → LET US PITCH THIS TO YOU 25 Places for Baseball History Today, baseball is played around the world in front of millions of fans—a staple of the summer season, yet its humble origins are still on display across the United States. From the home of the real-life Rockford Peaches that inspired the story in A League of Their Own to a mural honoring the early integration of a New Hampshire baseball team, these are some of our favorite places to explore the history of America’s favorite pastime. READ MORE → FREDERICKTOWN, MISSOURI Castor River Shut-Ins In the foothills of the St. Francois Mountains, one of the oldest mountains in the Americas at almost 1.5 billion years old, lies the curious place known as the Castor River Shut-Ins. Also known as Pink Rocks, due to the igneous rhyolite granite that they are formed in, these natural water slides are part of one of nature’s best amusement parks. READ MORE → THE ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST The Smallest Mollusk Museum Tiny things, big legacy. This episode, we visit the Smallest Mollusk Museum in New York, which is one member of a fleet of tiny museums that might just have a big impact on the world. Curiosity for everyone awaits, and the best part is—you don’t even have to shell out for it. LISTEN ON OUR SITE →    LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS →    LISTEN ON SPOTIFY →    LISTEN ON STITCHER → HISTORICAL DIETS How the Knights Templar Kept Fit Graybeards were thin on the ground in the 13th century. For even wealthy landholding males, average life expectancy was about 31 years, rising to 48 years for those who made it to their twenties. The Knights Templar, then, must have seemed to have some magical potion: Many members of this Catholic military order lived long past 60. Their comparatively long lives were attributed to a divine gift, but modern research suggests an alternative: The order’s compulsory dietary rules may have contributed to their long lives and good health. READ MORE → ISLAS MARIETAS, MEXICO Hidden Beach Playa del Amor, commonly known as the Hidden Beach, looks like something out of a fantasy novel: a wide, sandy cavern with the blue waters of the Pacific rushing in. It’s a feature of one of the Marieta Islands, a group of uninhabited islands formed by underwater volcano eruptions. They are natural wonders, but it was something other than the volcanic activity that brought the burrowed beach to light. READ MORE → FREE MEMBERS-ONLY EVENT Secrets of Medieval Tarot Unlock the mysteries of a medieval tarot deck in a state-of-the-art conservation center at the historic Morgan Library & Museum! In this live virtual experience, we join Conservator Frank Trujillo and Senior Curator Roger S. Wieck for an up-close look at the ornately painted cards, one of the most complete decks to survive from the 15th century. If you aren't a member yet, you can sign up during the RSVP process for this event.