Wild Life: Prairie Dog LanguageEach week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (). In the early twentieth century, some prairie dog towns stretched for hundreds of miles.
The Supermarket Scanner Changed the Way We Buy Groceries ForeverInvented 50 years ago, the curious box deciphered an arcane kind of code to offer shoppers a trip into the future.
Five Types of Trees You Can Safely Plant Close to Your HouseIf you would like to plant a tree in your yard but you’re not sure that you have the space because you've heard it's a bad idea to plant a tree too close to your house, you’re in luck.
UK's Graduate Visa programs may stay, but Sunak plans crackdown on foreign education agentsUK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a crackdown on agents marketing graduate visa schemes overseas, aiming to project a tough stance on migration before this year’s general elections.
Recycled sewage, public health and the memory of the world: Books in briefThe cover of this revolutionary book shows a recycling symbol, with arrows of clear blue water. Yet the subject is sewage. Environmental and water journalist Peter Annin is satisfied that recycled sewage can be drunk, after studying water recycling for two decades.
'I thought they hated me' – Lyon on Ashes, Lancashire and BazballNathan Lyon was heartbroken, but wishes he'd allowed himself the time to take it all in. Ten months ago, the Australia off-spinner was limping down the Lord's pavilion steps and into Ashes folklore, his calf shredded and his series over.
These Electric School Buses Are on Their Way to Save the GridThe big yellow school bus is a US icon, but perhaps not one that future Americans will remember fondly. Chugging through neighborhoods, idling in front of kids’ houses, the vehicles spew both noise and fossil-fuel pollution all across town.
Lessons From a Mass Shooter’s Motheralong the coastal 101 in brilliant blue, the bright May sky beginning to soften toward sunset. Chin Rodger felt a lift of optimism as she exited the freeway and arrived at a sushi restaurant tucked away in the tony town of Montecito, where she greeted her 22-year-old son, Elliot. He looked well.
How today’s antiwar protests stack up against major student movements in historyCampus protests for Gaza may be the biggest of the 21st century.
Olympics: New sports vie for places: Dodgeball, frisbee, teqballAfter succeeding Jacques Rogge as IOC president in 2013, Thomas Bach was forthright in his assessment of what the Olympic Games needed to do to stay relevant. For all that London 2012 reached a record-breaking global audience of 3.6 billion, the IOC had concerns.
‘Shōgun’ Exits Not With a Bang But a Whisper — and a Place in TV HistoryThis post contains spoilers for the finale of Shōgun. Many years ago, when I first finished reading James Clavell’s historical epic Shōgun, I felt slightly puzzled.
The Cat Who Saved MeThis is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Almost 15 years ago, I was in bad shape.
What does divesting from Israel really mean?And is it feasible? Plus three other questions about the student protesters’ demands. A core demand at the heart of the protests over the war in Gaza currently roiling college campuses across the US and around the world: that universities divest from Israel.
Treat your well-being like a meal and prioritize 3 ‘macronutrients of happiness,' says Harvard expertHappiness is something that we all strive for, but there isn't a clear prescription for the desired feeling. Social scientist Arthur C.
How a Few Secret Donors Are Fueling the New Right-Wing InfrastructureIn early 2021, Stephen Miller—former White House senior adviser to Donald Trump and architect of the 45th president’s hopeful second-term mass deportation agenda—announced his next venture: America First Legal (AFL).