jessicahester1's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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yosemite

For Sale: Old Photos of Huge Trees

These giants fascinated both conservationists and loggers.
February 4, 2019
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moon trees

Whatever Happened to All the Moon Trees?

Sprouted from seeds that traveled to space in 1971, many haven't fared so well back on Earth.
February 1, 2019
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totem poles

The Many, Many Layers of a Totem Pole Restoration Project

The American Museum of Natural History is conserving—and reconsidering—these monumental carvings.
January 30, 2019
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weather

How Will Chicago's Birds Weather the Polar Vortex?

Here's how the region's avian residents will survive the cold snap.
January 30, 2019
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winter

When Snakes and Scientists Battled to Predict the Coldest Chicago Winter on Record

In the early 20th century, meteorologists squared off with "weather sharps."
January 28, 2019
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microbes

Your Water Heater Is an Extreme Environment

Microbes that thrive under the harshest conditions are making themselves right at home—in our homes.
January 25, 2019
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construction

Revisiting Detroit's Black Bottom Neighborhood, Decades After Demolition

A new installation at the Detroit Public Library conjures a lost community.
January 24, 2019
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scotland

It Turns Out That This 'Millennia-Old' Stone Circle Is Actually Only as Old as Millennials

It's a recent riff on an ancient Scottish tradition.
January 23, 2019
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snow

A Century Ago, 3 People Met Their Deaths Gawking at the Frozen Niagara Falls

Stay off the ice bridge.
January 22, 2019
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textiles

A Map of the World’s Mammals for People Who Liked to Wear Them

This 1917 chart was focused on fur for fashion.
January 21, 2019
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ancient technology

The Crafty Historian Bringing Ancient Socks to Life

They look great with sandals.
January 17, 2019
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chemistry

Found: A Very Old Periodic Table, Rolled Up in Storage

The science-y magic of tidying up.
January 17, 2019
Gastro Obscura
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curry

For Sale: A Rather Unappetizing Coin Celebrating Berlin's Iconic Currywurst

The sausages are worth saluting, but look better in person.
January 16, 2019
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map monday

It’s Not Easy to Map the 100 Largest Islands in the World

Things quickly get contentious.
January 14, 2019
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whales

Whales Remix Each Other's Songs, Nearly 3,000 Miles Apart

Humpback whales separated by a continent can sound pretty similar.
January 11, 2019
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video

Exploring a World War II Gun Battery That's Hiding in Plain Sight

It's just a short ferry ride from Portland, Maine, and it's really easy to miss.
January 10, 2019
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illuminated manuscripts

How a Blue Tooth Led Scholars to a Medieval Manuscript Mystery

And illuminated the hidden contributions of a female artist.
January 9, 2019
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fatberg

7 Big Things That Are Smaller Than This Fatberg

A water company in Devon, England, found the enormous blob clogging the sewer.
January 9, 2019
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anatomy

Turning Anatomical Drawings Into Mosaics, Stone by Stone

An artist is making massive monuments to medical illustration.
January 8, 2019
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streetcars

Mapping Old Rail Routes Like Contemporary Subways

They're dreamy.
January 7, 2019
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anthropocene

Humanity Has Managed to Change Places We've Barely Even Visited

From the Mariana Trench to the Moon, we don't have to be in a place very much to muck it up.
January 4, 2019
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asteroids

What Does This Alien Minor Planet Look Like?

A peanut? Or maybe a bowling pin?
January 3, 2019
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brazil

Step Inside Brazil’s Museu Nacional, Before the Devastating Blaze

A new digital tour helps visitors jump back in time.
January 2, 2019
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fatberg

The Year in Grossness

2018 was chock-full of nauseating delights.
December 28, 2018