Stories - Atlas Obscura

Meet the West African Baker Reshaping French Pastry

Amadou Ly is working wonders in laminated dough.

On the Road? Share Your Pics of Roadside Attractions and Win!

We want to see your road trip wonders for Atlas Obscura’s first photo contest—Summer Snaps.

Podcast: The Tabor Opera House

Long before anyone appeared live at Red Rocks or made The Fillmore shake, there was The Tabor Opera House.

Ring the ‘Fish Doorbell’ To Help Fish Migrate in the Netherlands

Utrecht’s Fish Doorbell has helped thousands of fish swim upstream to reproduce.

How to See Venus and Mars in the Summer Sky

Our nearest planetary neighbors can help you map your place in the solar system.

endangered animals

How the California Condor Comeback Was Hatched

Once on the brink of extinction, the massive birds now number in the hundreds.

Podcast: Frozen Dead Guy

Near a Colorado mountain town, there's the frozen corpse of a Norwegian grandpa. We get the tale of how this came to be.

In Australia, Aboriginal Knowledge and the Mystery of Fairy Circles

Building connections between tradition and science.

Maryland's Rare Seabirds Get a Life Raft and Babysitters

Scientists don bike helmets and dodge bird poop to care for a colony of endangered common terns.

Podcast: Temple of Pythons

We visit southern Benin to learn more about one of the world's most misunderstood spiritual systems.

To Reduce Conflicts With Humans, Get Inside an Elephant's Head

Understanding how the giant mammals weigh risk and reward could help prevent clashes with people.

Podcast: Fairy Castle

A famous 1920s actress left the world a lasting piece of art: a remarkable miniature home.

Puzzle Monday: How Swede It Is! Crossword

11 Hyper-Local, Unique Summer Activities From Around the World

From trying a pawpaw fruit to attending Minnesota’s gopher count.

A 19th-Century Family Portrait of Comets

The thrills and horrors of strange heavenly bodies, condensed into one attractive snapshot.

secret lives of museums

One English Family Took Photos of Shipwrecks for More Than a Century

Now it's the negatives themselves that need to be saved from time and the elements.

Meet the Chef Reviving Royal Cambodian Recipes

Inspired by a trailblazing princess, Chef Nak's cookbook is a celebration of Khmer history.

The Last Days of Berlin's Gas Streetlamps

Looking at the German city in a different light.