March 22, 2023

HOMECOMING  The Red Lady of Paviland  In 1823, University of Oxford professor William Buckland traveled to Southern Wales and stumbled upon one of Western Europe’s oldest human burial sites. Within the site was an undisturbed burial of human bones, all stained red with ochre. The 33,000-year-old skeleton—also known as the Paviland bones—traveled with Buckland back to England, embarking on a journey of being called anything from a tax man, witch, or shaman. Now, there are also calls for the skeleton to take another journey—back to Wales.  READ MORE →   GASTRO OBSCURA Heritage Food Revival This Women’s History Month, Gastro Obscura is celebrating some of the women chefs, restaurateurs, and entrepreneurs drawing on generations of culinary knowledge and tradition in innovative ways. From the duo who launched their pop-up during the height of the pandemic to a grad student who started a plantain empire while finishing her doctorate, the following visionaries use food as a powerful vehicle for storytelling, drawing on roots encompassing influences from East Africa to Eastern Europe and beyond. READ MORE →   FLORENCE, ITALY Plautilla Nelli’s 'Last Supper' This ‘Last Supper,’ painted around 1568 by the nun and artist Plautilla Nelli, was recently installed in the refectory of the Santa Maria Novella museum. Nelli is the first-known female artist to paint a large-scale Last Supper, a project that would have demanded skill and been expensive, requiring lots of materials, scaffolding, and assistants. And unlike many depictions of the Last Supper, it is an oil painting on canvas—which likely saved it from destruction. READ MORE →   ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES Crossword Puzzle Creation Join crossword creators Natan Last and Brooke Husic for a behind-the-scenes look at how a themed, American-style puzzle goes from a collection of concepts to its final presentation. You’ll even get a chance to co-create a puzzle that’s published on Atlas Obscura! ENROLL NOW →   SPRINGTIME! It’s Cherry Blossom Season, Y’all Or, rather, it’s cherry blossom season here in the northern hemisphere. Also known as Japanese cherry or sakura trees, these radiant, pink petals come to life from late March through the month of April. If you’re going out to enjoy them, here are some of our favorite spots, from a tree gifted by the man known as “Public Enemy No.1” to one of the best locations in the nation’s capitol to see gorgeous cherry blossoms. READ MORE →   RUOKOLAHTI, FINLAND Kummakivi Balancing Rock The Kummakivi (Finnish for “Strange Rock”) balances upon another rock in the middle of the forest. This strange sight perplexed visitors since its discovery, and spawned stories of giants having balanced the rock in its position, but geologists have a more realistic explanation. READ MORE →   BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY National Corvette Museum Sinkhole A sinkhole that the Bowling Green, Kentucky Fire Department estimated to be 40 feet across and up to 30 feet deep opened up underneath some very expensive machines in February 2014, making car collectors around the world wince in horror. Eight Corvettes on display at the National Corvette Museum plummeted into the void in the wee hours of the morning, with their combined worth easily approaching several million. READ MORE →   HEADGEAR HISTORY The 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 →