October 20, 2022

A USEFUL TIP  Prevent Sad Pumpkins  For many Americans, pumpkins and squash mean that fall is here. But these fruits—yes, botanically, pumpkins and squash are fruits—don’t last forever. And they may not even make it to Halloween if you buy and carve them too early. Here are some gourd tips that can help your epic carving outlast the Day of the Dead.  READ MORE →   GASTRO OBSCURA Telling the Future With Eggs Cultures around the world, from Southeast Asia to Latin America, have relied on eggs to unscramble the mysteries of the future. This is a particularly interesting form of divination: oomancy, or using eggs to interpret the future. And surprising no one, oomancy had a role to play in the Salem Witch Trials. READ MORE →   ORLANDO, FLORIDA The Disney Collection The Disney Collection is the city’s 50-year-old trove of documents chronicling Walt Disney World, from groundbreaking in the 1960s to the present. Tucked into a row of shelves and dusty filing cabinets Sneezy would hate, the collection houses more than 200 books, dozens of periodicals, hundreds of pieces of memorabilia, and press clippings dating back to 1971. READ MORE →   SPONSORED BY VISIT SEATTLE Georgetown’s Passionate Community Seattle is filled with passionate people who not only have great ideas, but are willing to help others fulfill their own Big Ideas. Nowhere is that more evident than in Georgetown, where community spirit thrives alongside entrepreneurs chasing their visions and dreams. From one restaurateur couple’s love story to a family-owned comic store, there’s lots to explore. WATCH NOW →   DESCEND INTO THE UNDERWORLD 19 Catacombs to Explore The known history of the catacomb—meaning an underground cemetery—dates back to first-century Rome, but the most well-known came into being elsewhere in Europe in the 17th century. Paris’s catacombs might get the headlines, but such sprawling crypt networks exist all over the world. From catacombs across Malta to little known collections of bones beneath monasteries, here are some of our favorite chill-inducing labyrinths of the dead. READ MORE →   TWICKENHAM, ENGLAND 'The Naked Ladies' This sculpture consists of a group of unusually posed statues, comprising eight sea nymphs carved from white Carrara marble atop a rock garden. They are all beautiful, sculpted in a fin de siècle, Pre-Raphaelite inspired style. But because of the strange circumstances by which the ladies came to reside here, their creator’s identity is lost to the ages. READ MORE →   ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Design and Build Pop-Ups Paper may seem like a humble medium, but each sheet holds the potential to transform into something fascinating, complex, and three-dimensional. In this course with paper engineer Yoojin Kim, we’ll explore the many movements and dimensions you can create with pop-up structures—within books and cards or on their own. ENROLL TODAY →   LIGHT TALK The Ritual That Haunts Broadway If you’re hanging out in a Broadway theater after hours, long after everyone has gone home, you might notice one light remaining on. This is the ghost light, a lamp left onstage when everyone has left for the evening. Practically, this is done so anyone left in the theater doesn’t break their neck in the dark. Superstitiously, however, it’s for the ghosts in the area. READ MORE →   POINT PLEASANT, WEST VIRGINIA Mothman Statue According to legend, the Mothman is a large mysterious monster who has been seen at various times soaring through the skies in the region of a former World War II munitions site, just north of Point Pleasant. Legend holds that the creature has huge red eyes and the face of an insect, and its origins have been attributed to everything from military experiments to the plain old supernatural. But whether it’s real or not, at least one thing is true: its statue is magnificent. READ MORE →   ATLAS OBSCURA VIDEO Day Tripper with Angel Olsen In this episode of Atlas Obscura Day Tripper, explore the history and legacy of Theatricum Botanicum and Topanga Canyon’s influence on musician Angel Olsen’s latest studio album Big Time. Angel Olsen debuted this incredible new album with a special performance at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, a historic open-air theater in Topanga Canyon built by and for blacklisted artists during the McCarthy Era. WATCH NOW →