A display of 19th century skulls just got a facelift Haunting coffee, library apartments, and more. Email not displaying correctly? link View in your browser dot link graphic 73ed 94ee f 881 4ea 1 8e 1f 44f 98483021c dot png October 26, 2021 link click u equals 399fc 0402f 1b 154b 679656… link Skull Afterlives link For visitors, Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum offers an unexpected glimpse into the world of link 19th century medicine, and allows them to come face to face with the debates that still haunt link modern medical ethics. Perhaps the best example of this spirit is the Hyrtl Skull Collection, 139 link human skulls that were gathered in an effort to disprove the racist theories of phrenologists who link believed cranial shape dictated intelligence and personality. For decades the skulls sat in their link original cases on a catwalk, with only small alterations being made to the popular display. That link all changed in September 2021 when the museum unveiled its latest move a complete renovation of the link exhibit. link READ MORE right arrow link click u equals 399fc 0402f 1b 154b 679656… link GASTRO OBSCURA link Have a Cold Boo link Want a good brew to start your mornings off (f)right? Then you might want to visit Hirosaki, Japan, link home to Tsugaru Haunted Coffee, which draws on supernatural legends from Japanese mythology. Each link packet of coffee depicts a ghost or monster haunting different parts of the city. The link single serving drip coffee sachets are carefully packed by hand by Tsugaru Net, a B corporation link social enterprise in central Hirosaki that provides employment opportunities for people with link physical, intellectual, and mental disabilities. link READ MORE right arrow link click u equals 399fc 0402f 1b 154b 679656… link ŠIBENIK, CROATIA link Sea Tunnel at St. Anthony’s Canal link This channel is a natural phenomenon and was named after Saint Anthony the Abbot. It is the only link natural water route to Šibenik. Two holes in the coast form the entry into an underground water link bypass built by the Germans in the 20th century. They allowed military boats and torpedo boats to link access or to leave the city of Šibenik by water, bypassing underwater located mine barriers during link war times. link READ MORE right arrow link click u equals 399fc 0402f 1b 154b 679656… link ATLAS OBSCURA EXPERIENCES link Inside the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture link Join us for a behind the scenes look at the Schomburg Center's massive collection of over 11 link million items that illustrate African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences from link traditional African masks to modern hip hop recordings. link GET TICKETS right arrow link click u equals 399fc 0402f 1b 154b 679656… link FROM THE ARCHIVES link The Last Library Apartments link There used to be apartments on the top floors of New York City’s branch libraries. When these link libraries were built, about a century ago, they needed people to take care of them. These buildings link were heated by coal, so each had a custodian, who was tasked with keeping those fires burning and link who lived in the library, often with his family. But many of these apartments have vanished; today link there are just 13 library apartments left in the New York Public Library system. link READ MORE right arrow link click u equals 399fc 0402f 1b 154b 679656… link UNION, ILLINOIS link Illinois Railway Museum link Who doesn’t want to ride in a life sized Thomas the Tank engine? That’s one of the items in the link collection at the Illinois Railway Museum, which was founded in 1953 by ten men who each link contributed $100 to purchase Indiana Railroad 65, a recently retired interurban car that was on the link verge of being scrapped. Since then, it has grown into the largest railway museum in the United link States, with a collection filled with working trains including steam, diesel, and electric models. link READ MORE right arrow link click u equals 399fc 0402f 1b 154b 679656… link ATLAS OBSCURA PODCAST link The Real Alchemist of Castle Frankenstein link In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, two members of the Atlas Obscura team go in search of link the true story that may have inspired the literary classic, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The link Modern Prometheus. Our journey begins here, where more than 300 years ago, this castle was home to link the von Frankenstein family, and home to a child who grew up to become what we might today call a link mad scientist. Cue spooky music. link LISTEN ON OUR SITE right arrow link LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS right arrow link link LISTEN ON SPOTIFY right arrow link link LISTEN ON STITCHER right arrow link click u equals 399fc 0402f 1b 154b 679656… link FROM THE ARCHIVES link Deadly Shortcuts link In the summer of 1846, a party of 89 emigrants was making its way westward along the Oregon Trail. link Tired, hungry, and trailing behind schedule, they decided to use a shortcut known as the Hastings link Cutoff, which claimed to shave at least 300 miles off the journey. It did not. In fact, it cost link them precious weeks, and when snow fell, that party known now as the infamous Donner Reed party was link trapped. How did a shortcut go so wrong? link READ MORE right arrow link click u equals 399fc 0402f 1b 154b 679656… link SMITHFIELD, VIRGINIA link World’s Oldest Edible Ham link This ham is reportedly the oldest in the world. It was originally cured in 1902 by the Gwaltney link Foods meat company before it was lost in storage. But if its storied history wasn't enough to make link it famous, it was once also a pet ham, with its owner even putting a brass collar on it and link parading it around. Talk about hamming it up, huh? link READ MORE right arrow link click u equals 399fc 0402f 1b 154b 679656… link ATLAS OBSCURA EXPERIENCES HALLOWEEK link Language of Art: Ghosts and the Occult in Art link Prepare for a Halloween inspired experience in art. Join art lecturer Regina Mamou of Art Muse Los link Angeles to explore paranormal, witchcraft, and magic influences in art and learn to decipher link symbols in works of art. link GET TICKETS right arrow link graphic Add a place to the Atlas link graphic Subscribe to our other newsletters link graphic The definitive guide to the world's hidden wonders. link graphic Facebook link graphic Twitter link graphic Instagram link graphic Instagram link Visit Atlas Obscura dot com link View in Browser link Unsubscribe link See All Newsletters 61 Greenpoint Ave number 622, Brooklyn, NY 11222