The Atlas Obscura Podcast

On Fridays this October, we're surfacing strange, incredible and sometimes spooky stories. This episode centers on cakes with a particular ingredient that some believe protected them from witchery - and sparked one of the best-known witch hunts in United States history.
READ MORE IN THE ATLAS:https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-are-witch-cakes



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

Today we're powering up our metal detectors and keeping a very close eye on the surface of the earth as we set out in the hunt for meteorites with Steve Arnold, who’s been in the game for more than three decades. If you want to learn more, check out Steve’s website, and read this profile of the meteorite hunting community.

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

There’s an organ in Halberstadt, Germany that began to play in 2001 and will continue to play until the year 2640. This is the John Cage Organ Project Halberstadt.



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

We go to Fayerweather Island, off the coast of Connecticut, and get the story of Kate Moore, one of the first recorded woman lighthouse keepers. Over several decades, she poured her heart and soul into a task and defied common expectations of what a keeper should be.

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

The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has a very unusual artifact in its collection: an object that’s been called “the world’s most dangerous toy.” It’s a science kit from the 1950s, designed to teach kids about the atom and atomic energy, but the twist is…it contains real samples of uranium. We explore the kit’s contents, and the context in which it was made.
Check out the Atlas Obscura video of the kit, and our past episode on Atomic Las Vegas
Explore the archival material mentioned in this episode: “Duck and Cover” (1951), “A is for Atom” (1953), and President Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” speech
Did you have one of these Atomic Energy Lab kits or other atomic toys? Or how about toys that would be considered dangerous today? We want to hear from you: Drop us a line at hello@atlasobscura.com or call us 315-992-7902 and leave a message.



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