Dylan goes on a journey to examine the preserved middle finger of astronomer, physicist, and engineer Galileo Galilei.

All week, we’re featuring the stories behind a few of our favorite things – from ancient hams to mummified fingers. Want to tell us about your own favorite unusual object? Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, record a voice memo and email it to us at 

[email protected] We may air your story on a future episode!

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Created by a volcanic eruption in 2015, this island in the South Pacific no longer exists… but we chat with a person who got to see it before it disappeared.

LEARN MORE about Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in this Reuters article and see it in the Atlas here

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We talk with anthropologist Manvir Singh, whose research on shamanism took him from the small island of Siberut to study current practitioners, to exploring prehistoric cave art in France. It’s the subject of his new book, “Shamanism: The Timeless Religion” – and in it he also argues that we can find elements of shamanism in our own lives. 
 

Find out more about Manvir Singh’s work: https://www.manvir.org/

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Dylan has just returned from a month-long trip with his family, and he and the gang answer listener questions about traveling with kids and more. 

Have a question for Dylan? Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message. You can also record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected], or simply email your question.   

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Listeners share stories about how they commute to work and back home as they also reflect on how special their neighborhood is too. 

Plus: We wanna hear stories about your first time traveling with your kids.  Tell us about that experience - where did you and your family travel to? And why there? How did your kids adjust to traveling? Did they love it? Or did they give you a hard time traveling? What memories did you make from that trip? Was this the right place for kids? What would you recommend to other parents traveling with their kids for the first time? Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after three minutes so please call in if you get disconnected. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected]

Plus: The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World is out now! 

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Earlier this year a geologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science got a very unusual phone call. A construction crew ripping up the museum’s parking lot had found… dinosaur bones. We dig deeper and get a taste of what it would have been like to visit the Denver area during the Cretaceous Period. 

See the parking lot dino fossil: https://www.dmns.org/science/research/parking-lot-dinosaur/

Check out the rock slab that “shows” the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event: https://coloradosprings.dmns.org/dmnshomepage/catalyst/fall-2024/recorded-in-stone-single-worst-day-for-multicellular-life-on-earth//

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For years, students at Bennington College snuck into a locked room for a glimpse of strange and magical instruments created by professor Gunnar Schonbeck. Today, we join his orchestra. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/no-experience-required

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Henry S. Rosenthal is the owner of what is likely the world’s largest collection of two-headed taxidermied calves. The collection is in San Francisco, and you can reach out to Henry at [email protected] to make arrangements to see it.

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Ota Tofu in Portland, Oregon is the oldest tofu shop in the United States. Two brothers opened the shop in 1911 and even today their tofu is still made the old-fashioned way, using a labor-intensive process that is difficult to find (even in Japan!). 
 

Learn more about Ota Tofu: https://www.otapdx.com/

And check out the work of guest Lauren Yoshiko:  http://laurenyoshiko.com/

This episode was produced in partnership with Travel Portland. 

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From opera singers to strange noises emitting from air conditioners, listeners share stories about their unusual neighbors. 

Plus:  We want to hear stories about your commute. Are there people that you see on the train platform everyday, but still remain a stranger to you? Did you ever have a funny or strange encounter in a crowded subway car?  Do you see something on your way to work that always makes your day? Give us a call at (315) 992-7902 and leave us a message with your name and story. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected].

And if you have a kid in your life who loves STEM, check out our new book,The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World, for young readers.

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