Atlas Obscura’s Wondersky columnist Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science journalist and author of the upcoming Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are (January 2024, Random House). Throughout the summer, she’ll be sharing the stories and secrets of our wondrous night sky. ...

After World War I, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles brought the Polish state back into existence after 123 years of division and occupation by the Prussian, Austrian, and Russian empires, formalizing the borders of this resurrected Poland by carving out territory from these three failing imperial powers. Poland's new border was moved even further west...

The history of Trutnov is intimately bound with dragons, as even the shortest term visitor will notice. Dragons adorn businesses throughout the city center and comprise some of the city's most prominent statues. Depending on the time of year, you may even be lucky enough to see one hoisted from city hall. According to local legend, in 1006, shortly...

As temperatures start to rise and beaches start to fill, it seems summer has officially arrived—bring on the backyard barbecues and picture-perfect picnics (perhaps in a secluded Georgian graveyard)! This year at Atlas Obscura, we’re doing the sunny season a little differently. With the launch of our ongoing Summer of Wonder series, we’re delving into...

Situated within the Fremantle Cemetery lies the final resting place of Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott, lead vocalist of the popular rock band AC/DC. Bon was born on July 9, 1946, in a town north of the Scottish city of Dundee. (You can find a bronze statue of the singer in Kirriemuir, where he spent the first few years of his life.) In 1952, at the age...

In the 1930s Pittston, Pennsylvania, was dubbed the "Quality Tomato Capital of the World," because it fulfilled the high demand for tomatoes from metropolitan New York. In 1984 the city began the now-yearly Pittston Tomato Festival. Held every August, it includes a tomato fight, a tomato pageant, a tomato parade, and other tomato-centered activities. ...