We dive into the dirty history of the famed Paris sewer system, from its unorthodox cleaning methods, to a pneumatic postal service that ran via the sewer, to… a poop tax.

We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or a story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to [email protected]

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Scientists in Denver, Colorado store and conduct tests on miles of ice core samples dating back hundreds of thousands of years. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/national-ice-core-lab

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In 1891, a knot of men murdered a 1,300-year-old tree to prove it wasn’t a "tall tale." We visit the Mark Twain Stump, a 16-foot-wide wooden stage that serves as a monument to early American hubris, the cost of disbelief, and the bittersweet birth of the conservation of the Sequoias.

This episode is part of our Weekend Road Trip Series, where we bring you stories of the strange, incredible, and wondrous places right here in the United States, that you can see from the road. This series was produced in partnership with T-Mobile.  

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We go to Wilmington, Delaware, to a 4-acre garden with characters and exhibits created using castoff materials and greenery that invites kids to drop screens and rules – and instead give in to a state of play. 

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/enchanted-woods-winterthur-gardens

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This amusement park in Singapore holds the Ten Courts of Hell, a series of dioramas that depict the kind of horrible fates awaiting people who behaved badly on Earth.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/haw-par-villa

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Producers Jerome and Johanna join co-host Kelly McEvers to answer questions about souvenir-buying stress, multigenerational travel, and what to listen to on a road trip when you don’t have the same taste as your driving buddy.

Our next mailbag episode will be next month. If you have a question, email us at [email protected]. Or call us directly and leave a voicemail at 315-992-7902.

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Allen Woodall’s first lunchbox was a brown paper bag. Since then, he’s amassed a collection of over 5,000 lunchboxes, all housed in a museum in Columbus, Georgia. 

The Lunchbox Museum is part of the Columbus Collective Museums. Learn more: 

https://www.columbuscollectivemuseums.com/

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Producers India Rice and Morgan Johnson take you beyond this planet as they share two stories tied to the franchise Star Wars.

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In Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, there was once a revolutionary community for African Americans willing to do whatever it took to maintain their own freedom – and help others achieve theirs. Learn more about planning a trip to Smith Court via the Black Heritage Trail.

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Historians have known about the strange passageway in the Merchant’s House Museum for decades, but they never knew what it was for… until now. And now that we know, it changes everything we thought we knew about why the Merchant’s House really matters.

Learn more about the fight to save the Merchant’s House: https://merchantshouse.org/calltoarms/  

We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or a story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to [email protected]. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.