The Atlas Obscura Podcast

Mary Maschal set out to document women’s history, unintentionally becoming part of it herself. Learn more about the Women's Museum of History here.

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For decades, people have been addressing love letters to an oak tree deep in the Dodauer Forest in Germany called the Bridegroom’s Oak. The hope is that a passerby might find their letter, write back and form a connection. Journalist Elliot Stein visited this romantic post office box and talked to the mail carrier who used to deliver these letters and who one day, found a letter that was addressed to him. 

If you would like to address your own love letter to the Bridegroom’s Oak, the mailing address is: 

Bräutigamseiche,

Dodau 99 Dodauer Forst,

23701 Eutin, Germany

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“Stockholm Syndrome” is a term in pop psychology that’s come to mean situations where hostages develop emotional bonds with their captors. But it comes from an actual hostage situation back in the 1970s, when a botched bank robbery in downtown Stockholm turned into a six-day long stand-off between the would-be robbers and police. Today, the bank is a hotel – and you can still see evidence of this incident inside.

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We asked you about traveling to all 50 states, and in response got several stories about interesting quests and journeys across the U.S.

Up Next: Tell us your stories about visiting the U.S National Parks. Which ones have you been to? Which ones are you looking forward to? Did everything go as planned? Did anything surprising happen? Tell us all about it. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message with your story and your name. You can also record a voice memo and email it to us at Hello@AtlasObscura.com. 

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In the 1980s, a group of friends on the track team at Sul Ross State University hauled a discarded dorm room desk to the top of a mountain. They left a notebook there to keep track of their run times and leave little notes for each other. Then… other people found it. And then… it started a tradition.

Visit the Atlas entry for the Sul Ross desk, and learn more about the archives containing the Sul Ross desk notebooks.

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