It's Friday! In today's edition, we're covering a terrifying sea creature that was a British royal delicacy for centuries, a historic argumentbetween Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and a rather heartwarming story about how one man saved hundreds of native New Zealand birds. Happy reading!  Bloodsucking Parasite, Royal Delicacy In 2002, Martin Kirby, a journalist and resident of Gloucester, England, had a problem. Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee was coming up fast, and he wanted to provide a traditional lamprey pie for the occasion. Gloucester’s medieval custom of whipping up seafood-filled pies for the royals was revived for the Queen’s coronation in 1953, and while there was interest in performing the tradition, there was one catch: sea lampreys, which once slithered plentifully through the River Severn, were on the brink of extinction in the United Kingdom. Enter Michigan to the rescue. READ MORE → Places of the Day Victim of the Beast Gravestone Salt Lake City, Utah The inscription reads “Lilly E. Gray, Victim of the Beast 666.” Which is stranger: the inscription or the fact that no one seems to know what it means or why it was placed here? READ MORE → 'Turning Angel' Statue Natchez, Mississippi This monument of a stone angel was erected in memory of the victims of a tragic explosion, and is said to turn and look at passing cars. READ MORE → Kindred Spirit Mailbox Bird Island, North Carolina No one knows the identity of the real Kindred Spirit, but this small black mailbox is a draw for visitors to express their hopes and thoughts. It even saved a nature reserve! READ MORE → Houdini vs. Doyle Ladies and gentlemen, we bring to you one of the most famous fights in the early 20th century! The issue at hand: Spiritualism, a religious movement based on the belief that the living could communicate with the dead. In one corner, we’ve got Arthur Conan Doyle, a physician and man of science who was an ardent believer. In the other corner, we’ve got Harry Houdini, a master of illusion who was a devoted skeptic. Who will come out on top? Let’s rumble. READ MORE → Who’s a Good Dog? On the Mongolian steppe, there are predators, there are prey, and there are the bankhar. For 15,000 years, bankhar dogs have been the guardians of the steppe, safeguarding both sheep and livestock. But during the era of Soviet socialist campaigns, that special connection between herder and bankhar dog was nearly lost, along with the bankhar itself. Now, an ambitious project aims to return bankhar dogs to their traditional role as livestock guardians. READ MORE → Libre Intentional Artist Community In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we go with Luz Flemming to the place where he grew up—Libre, one of the longest lasting intentional communities that still exists. LISTEN ON OUR SITE → LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS → LISTEN ON SPOTIFY → LISTEN ON STITCHER → Saving New Zealand’s Kākāpōs In 1893 in Auckland, New Zealand, 48-year-old Richard Henry was going through a peculiar midlife crisis over the decline of the flightless, moss-colored parrots called kākāpōs. So when he became the caretaker of Resolution Island, an 80-square-mile, uninhabited hunk of rock off southern New Zealand, he began work to turn it into a predator-free sanctuary for kākāpōs and other native birds. For the next 14 years, he rowed hundreds of native birds from the mainland to keep them safe from the snapping jaws of furry little predators. READ MORE → Our Courses and Trips Learn to Read Buildings An old building is a kind of ever-morphing history book; chapters are caught between layers of paint and architectural features offer clues about the people who lived in them long ago. In this seminar, join Lauren Northup for a cross-disciplinary approach to unlocking the language of buildings, drawing from architectural history, microscopy, historic preservation, and archaeology. ENROLL IN THIS COURSE → Birds of New Zealand On the South Island of New Zealand, a “kee-ah!” echoes through the emerald mountains. It’s the call of the endangered kea—the world’s only alpine parrot, and one of the most intelligent and spunky birds on the planet. Join us as we get to know them—and a flock of other new feathered friends—as we explore the island through the lens of conservation. BOOK THIS TRIP →