sabrinaimbler's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

sabrinaimbler

Hi! I'm a staff writer for Atlas Obscura. Reach me at sabrina.imbler@atlasobscura.com.

2019
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female scammers

The Parisian Fraudster With Complicated Tales of Imaginary Millionaires

Thérèse Humbert played French bankers like fiddles to live in the lap of luxury.

female scammers

The Victorian Influencer Who Peddled Poisonous Beauty Elixirs

Sarah Rachel Russell sold exotic makeup that turned out to be mostly arsenic.

For Sale: Preserved Manure From a Kentucky Derby Winner

Just $200 can get you a resin-encased chunk of horse racing history.

female scammers

The Liechtensteinian Lady Burglar and Her Mysterious Trunk

Barbara Erni stole from countless inns thanks to a chest with a secret hidden within.

nature preserves

Mexico’s Newest Nature Reserve Will Be a Former Prison

Octavio Aburto and other Mexican ecologists want to preserve the pristine reefs of the Isla Marías penal colony.

Found: A 99-Million-Year-Old Millipede, Perfectly Preserved in Amber

The newly described species has a five-unit compound eye and an unbristled butt.

Scientists Demystify the Celestial Phenomenon Known as STEVE

It's way cooler than an aurora.

How a 90-Year-Old Quest for Plankton Uncovered Early Plastic Pollution

All praise to the tireless continuous plankton recorder.

Found: The Goofiest Crab That Ever Lived

It has the legs of a sea scorpion, the body of a lobster, and the eyes of an enormous larva.

Scientists Come Closer to Solving the Mystery of Coral Reef Halos

These light blue rings can be seen from space.

deserts & desserts

The Most Interesting, Spectacular Mirages Aren’t in the Desert

Spoiler alert: Try the Arctic or Sicily instead.

Meet the Mother-Son Duo Translating Astrophysics Into Blackfoot

Corey Gray and Sharon Yellowfly want to bring gravitational wave astronomy to speakers of the language.

Found: Britain's First Pet Bunny

The rabbit was pampered and definitely not butchered.

Researchers Have Recreated the Face of an Ancient Dog

The canine remains were buried in a tomb in Orkney, Scotland, over 4,000 years ago.

When Doctors Thought ‘Wanderlust’ Was a Psychological Condition

For decades, "pathological tourists" ended up in asylums or worse.

The Weirdly Ornate Jars Designed Just for Precious Leeches

Victorian leech jars were beautiful—if somewhat ineffective—vessels for keeping the worms alive and out of sight.

Norway Will Finally Return Thousands of Artifacts to Easter Island

Sculptures, weapons, and human skulls will soon go back to the South Pacific.

Found: Hot Pink ‘Pagodas’ at the Bottom of the Sea

A deep-sea expedition uncovers a candy-colored oasis off the Gulf of California.

The Beloved Japanese Novelist Who Became a Queer Manga Icon

Nobuko Yoshiya’s stories of frustrated, forbidden love helped establish a genre read by millions.

Wanted: Women Who Will Spend 60 Days in Bed, for Science

Space agencies are looking for 12 female participants for a microgravity study that’s every couch potato’s dream.

Found: A Fancy Baby Boot From the 14th Century

Archaeologists in Switzerland unearthed a fragment of a very small shoe.

This Erupting Italian Peak Is a Hotspot for Studying Volcanic Lightning

Though not much to see, Mount Stromboli is a scientist’s dream.

Scientists Dropped Dead Gators to the Seafloor to See What Bites

It takes a lot to go from the bayou to the deep sea.

Chinese Women Once Had to Point Out Their Medical Troubles on Ivory Dolls

For centuries, miniature ivory women helped real women seek medical help.