matthewtaub's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

matthewtaub

Contributing Writer, formerly Editorial Fellow. Still aspiring Jolly Good Fellow. Say hi: matthewtaubwrites@gmail.com @mjtaub1 (Twitter/Instagram)

https://twitter.com/mjtaub1

2018
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Patricia Arquette Has a Thing for the Weird Art of California's High Desert

"There's some kind of energy in the desert that's very different than anywhere else," she says of the setting of her new Apple TV+ series.

secret obsessions

Ken Burns on His Obsession With Ben Franklin, and Admiration for Guy Fieri

The documentary filmmaker talks about a founder's flaws, radical openness, and road tripping for a sandwich.

Bolivia's Dance of the Devils Is a Party and a Battle Between Good and Evil

Heaven and hell, music and dance at the Carnaval de Oruro.

February 28, 2022

The Carnival Masks of Jacmel, Haiti, Are a Papier-Maché Fever Dream

The seaside town is known for both its history and its artistry.

February 25, 2022

The Supernatural Sheep of Slovenia's Door-to-Door Carnival

To bring spring, hundreds of hirsute revelers roam the country's villages.

February 24, 2022

For Sale: Ricky Jay's One-of-a-Kind Collection of Magic, Mystery, and Masterpieces

The late, legendary magician and actor always followed his curiosity.

October 14, 2021

Found: An 18th-Century Garden Folly Adorned With Teeth and Bones

A bit disturbing, but oddly lovely.

Found: A Massive Medieval Cathedral From a 'Forgotten' Nubian Kingdom

The discovery adds to our knowledge of Makuria, which ruled a vast region of Africa for six centuries.

Vaccination Could Easily Have Been Called 'Equination'

A recently sold letter from medical pioneer Edward Jenner provides some insight as to why.

Why Prehistoric Barrows Are Back in Funerary Fashion

The United Kingdom is experiencing a revival of interest in an ancient burial method.

Sold: Papers From the Planning of the 1963 March on Washington

They tell a ground-level story of how peaceful movements led to social change, and how much remains to be done.

January 10, 2023

This Miniature Quran Bears Witness to an Immense History

It is an artifact of devotion, wealth, and empire.

January 6, 2021

Trying to Make Sense of the Mystery Monolith Craze of 2020

An expert on Kubrick finds them "fascinating," if "derivative," but they may be this strange year's physical embodiment.

December 16, 2020

Happy 100th Birthday to the Theremin, Instrument of the Future

The theremin's mystery endures, and virtuosos are still fighting for its recognition.

December 1, 2020

Zooming in on the Microbiome of Some da Vinci Masterpieces

A new study found plenty of bacteria, fungi, and insect remains, but nothing to be alarmed about.

November 25, 2020

For Sale: A Hidden Trove of Correspondence With Bob Dylan

The papers of Tony Glover, "musician's musician" and journalist, include many other luminaries as well.

November 18, 2020

The Unsettled Legacy of the Bloodiest Election in American History

An exhibit is taking a closer look at the racist Ocoee Massacre in Florida, 100 years after it took place.

November 10, 2020

For Sale: The Entire Spycraft Collection of New York's KGB Museum

If you ever needed a lipstick gun or a heartbeat detector, you could be in luck.

October 29, 2020

Meet the Man Who Walked from York to Hastings in Medieval Armor

He was fighting not Normans, but the stigma of mental illness.

October 21, 2020

Found: An Old Norse 'Godhouse' Fit for Thor and Odin

The site reflects how the rise of Christianity to the south affected the worship of the Norse pantheon.

October 14, 2020

Sold: 53 Letters Deciphered by a Groundbreaking English Codebreaker

Cagey about his methods, John Wallis was a bit of a cipher himself.

October 7, 2020

The Holocaust-Surviving Violins That Were Quarantined Beneath a California Stage

The pandemic layover and their eventual return home is a new chapter in a long history.

October 1, 2020

Found: The Wreck of a Ship That Carried Enslaved Maya from Mexico to Cuba

This slave trade is well known to historians, but this is the first known wreck from it.

September 23, 2020

A Rare Day-by-Day Document of Life Aboard a Slave Ship

The logbook is written from the white perspective, and its horrors are plain to see.

September 17, 2020