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Suborbital space tourism finally arrives | FCC prepares to run public C-band auction | The big four in the U.S. launch industry — United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman — hope to be one of two providers that will receive five-year contracts later this year to launch national security payloads starting in 2022. | China’s launch rate stays high | The International Space Station is the largest ever crewed object in space.

 
The Modern Resurrection of the Dybbuk, Demon...
In 2003, a wine cabinet in Portland, Oregon, somehow made headlines. The owner of the foot-and-a-half-tall wooden bit of decor, Kevin Mannis, had listed it on eBay alongside an elaborate story. He claimed that the cabinet had previously been owned by a Polish Holocaust survivor and was inhabited by a powerful demon known as a Dybbuk. Since it came into his possession, he wrote, his life had been shaken by paranormal occurrences, from disturbing nightmares to intense feelings of...

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Memorial Park of Houses Destroyed by Debris...
In June 1991, Mount Unzen erupted and caused major damage to the surrounding towns, taking 43 lives and burying many houses in the debris flows. To memorialize the disaster, the city of Shimabara preserved some of the buried houses in situ as a park. Known as the Memorial Park of Houses Destroyed by Debris Flows, it consists of 11 structures, three inside a pavilion and the rest outside. Together, the disaster-stricken houses warn visitors of the dangers of volcanic eruptions...

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Ayia Napa Sculpture Park in Ayia Napa,...
Ayia Napa, a bustling resort town on Cyprus’s southeastern coast renowned for its lively nightlife houses a hidden gem, the Ayia Napa Sculpture Park. Nestled on the outskirts, away from the town’s energetic buzz, this park serves as a tranquil oasis—providing a stark contrast to the party scene. Established in 2014, the Ayia Napa Sculpture Park is an open-air museum that undergoes annual expansions, featuring over 50 contemporary sculptures by both local and international artists. Among these artworks, visitors will...

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Patterson Park Observatory in Baltimore, Maryland
Built in 1891-1892 by local contractor Cornelius Sheehan, the Patterson Park Observatory was the brainchild of designer Charles H. Latrobe. This beloved structure is known to most locals simply as “The Pagoda.” The four-story tower stands 60 feet tall and is constructed of iron, glass, and wood. It stands on Hampstead Hill, a key battlement during the Battle for Baltimore in 1814. The uppermost deck offers breathtaking views in all directions, including the downtown skyline and inner harbor, the...

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Yicel Shipwreck in Manzanillo, Costa Rica
On December 8, 2017, the Yicel was sailing north along Costa Rica‘s Caribbean coast when it began taking on water. Built in 1961, the 135-foot-long ship was headed for the port of Limón to pick up cargo, but a hull failure halted its progress. Water began to enter through the cracks and when the pumps failed, the crew could not remove the water. Rather than sink at sea, the captain made the decision to cross the reef and intentionally...

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In Ancient Egypt, Soul Houses and False...
Each week in October, University of Manchester Egyptologist Nicky Nielsen will share an intriguing aspect of ancient Egyptian beliefs and traditions surrounding death and the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians shared the world they inhabited with innumerable otherworldly entities: invisible, yet with immense power. Demons haunted the desert wastes and goddesses dwelled in the marshes of the Nile Delta, but the spirits of the dead were omnipresent. Ancestor worship was an important part of household religion and the belief that...

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Podcast: The Tunguska Event
Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we head to a remote region of Russia, to the epicenter of what would become known as the Tunguska Event. On June 30, 1908, at 7:17 in the morning, a firey blue light streaked across the sky above Siberia, followed by a blinding flash and a cacophony of noise that sounded like artillery firing. Today, scientists still debate...

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Gastro Obscura's Favorite Fall Treats and Autumn...
THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE OCTOBER 7, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. It’s officially fall, but everyone I know is complaining about the lingering summery temperatures. My fashionable friends want to start wearing their big coats and scarves, while nature-lovers are watching vigilantly for any sign of browning leaves. I’m a summer person, but fall has its charms. I love any kind of seasonal celebration, especially when it involves food....

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Giddy Edge Path in Matlock Bath, England
This artificially created footpath in the High Torr Gardens at Matlock Bath is recognized as one of the most dangerous footpaths in the world. With a 300-foot drop beside it, only the trickier sections are protected by the wrought iron handrails and there is nothing between you and the edge. The views into Matlock Dale are magnificent and well worth the effort for those brave enough to do it.  The path is in a garden/park for which there is...

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Gräinskapell in Luxembourg, Luxembourg
The Gräinskapell, or St Quirinus Chapel, stands at the bottom of the valley. The Gothic-style pilgrimage chapel was built in 1355. The roof and the spire with a bell were then added at the end of the 19th Century. The chapel however has much earlier origins. A shrine once stood here, which the Romans then converted into an early Christian place of worship. It’s likely the shrine developed because of a spring that was claimed to cure eye conditions. Since...

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National Heisey Glass Museum in Newark, Ohio
For over 60 years, A.H. Heisey and Company made high-quality and artistic glass pieces before the factory closed in 1957. A club of collectors established this museum just 14 years later and donated many pieces to tell the story of the company. Augustus Henry Heisey founded the company that bore his name in 1895. Garnering a reputation for its quality and sharpness, the Heisey company also advertised his glass in national publications. Lines of colored glass popular during the...

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Jajce Catacombs in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Constructed in 1400 to provide a burial place for the Bosnian nobleman Hrvoje Vukčić, who founded the small but historical city of Jajce, this little church has lost much of its original detail but holds many secrets.  The structure has two levels. The upper level can be accessed via a flight of stairs that takes visitors through the narthex of the chapel. On either side of the doorway, eagle-eyed visitors can make out the remains of two relief sculptures...

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War Eagle Cavern in Little Flock, Arkansas
One of the largest cave entrances in Arkansas opens at the end of a Beaver Lake inlet. A dramatic bluff, covered in trees and ferns, leads to two chambers. This living cave still forms as mild acid rainwater pushes through limestone planes. A stream cuts down the cavern, low waterfalls puncturing its flow throughout. Though the water is crystal clear, the heaps of bat guano gathered in the back of the cave make it undrinkable.  The bats are not...

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Uchimura Kanzo Memorial Stone Church in Karuizawa,...
In the upscale resort town of Karuizawa, an otherworldly structure reigns supreme as one of its top wedding venues. A domino effect of stone arches and glass panels, the unique chapel lies in the forest like the ruins of an ancient advanced civilization, collecting moss on its firm surface. The Stone Church, as it is commonly known, was built in 1988 in honor of Uchimura Kanzō, the Japanese Christian evangelist who founded the Nonchurch Movement in 1901, promoting the philosophy...

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The Nightmare of Sleep Paralysis Makes a...
This story was originally published on The Conversation and appears here under a Creative Commons license. You wake up in the middle of the night. The room is dark except for the faint glow of the moon through your window. But something’s wrong. A weight presses down on your limbs, digs deep into the flesh of your stomach, and squeezes the air from your lungs. You try to move, but you can’t—all you can do is tentatively open your...

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