The Best of Atlas Obscura
10+ most popular Atlas Obscura articles, as voted by our community.
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The Passion (and Fantastical Fashion) of France's Food Brotherhoods
Brie-shaped hats and colorful robes help culinary confréries promote regional specialties.
Meet the Great Seed Detective
Adam Alexander preserves heirloom vegetables and the history they represent.
The Underground Cooks of Singapore's Prisons
In the 1970s and 80s, when the guards stepped away, the pots and flames came out.
Atlas Obscura on Astrology
The Long, Extremely Witchy History of Telling the Future With Eggs
From ancient Greece to the Salem Witch Trials.
Atlas Obscura on Board Games
The Utilitarian Pleasures of Playing Board Games By Yourself
It's a movement made for the moment.
Atlas Obscura on Food
A Database of 5,000 Historical Cookbooks Is Now Online, and You Can Help Improve It
It took Barbara Ketcham Wheaton more than 50 years to compile The Sifter.
The ‘Perpetual Broths’ That Simmer For Decades
Taking stock of the world's oldest soups.
Atlas Obscura on History
Did Ancient Humans Use Echolocation?
Archaeologists test how our ancestors may have used this (nearly) lost skill to navigate caves and other dark spaces.
Atlas Obscura on India
Meet the 'Devil Chefs' of Kashmir
Families use skills passed down over generations to prepare a special feast.
Atlas Obscura on LGBTQIA
The Founder of America's Earliest Lesbian Bar Was Deported for Obscenity
Eve Adams was eventually murdered at Auschwitz.
Atlas Obscura on Mythology
Atlas Obscura on Politics
Why Do We Roast Politicians With Food-Based Insults?
When you can't throw a vegetable at a rotten official, call them one.
Atlas Obscura on Society
Descend Into the Sewers With London’s Fatberg-Busters
What can we learn from wipes, oils, and fats when they overwhelm the arteries of the modern world?
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Letters from the Loneliest Post Office in the World
A story of Antarctic adventure seekers, stamp collectors, politics, and penguins.
Inside America's Premier Black Rodeo, A Celebration of Cowboy Culture
A photographer captures perseverance and pride over a decade of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo.
How a Self-Trained Italian Blacksmith Built Himself an Amusement Park
Bruno Ferrin made a wonder in the woods by hand and by chance.
Grapefruit Is One of the Weirdest Fruits on the Planet
From its name, to its hazy origins, to its drug interactions, there's a lot going on beneath that thick rind.
The Medieval Influencer Who Convinced the World to Drink Tea—Not Eat It
Caffeinated soups and chewing the leaves were once the norm.
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