M.J. Rose

Welcome to the Atlas Obscura!

Travel the globe’s various oddities, either virtually or ACTUALLY* – explore places such as France’s Traboules Secret Passages…

“Hundreds of hidden passageways weave through the old quarters of Lyon: Between courtyards and through buildings, secret alleyways and staircases once provided safe and efficient passage for silk workers to get their wares to and from market unmarred… »”

For the complete experience, visit the Atlas here.

*”Beginning this summer, the Atlas Obscura will be offering day and weekend tours of the world’s most wondrous, curious, and esoteric cities. We’ll be setting up back-room visits at museums, tours of private collections, meetings with fascinating people, and stops at a variety of curious and obscure spots.”

From Wired.

The Truth Is Out There, and the Nation’s Maddest Scientists Are After It

“Paranormal phenomena aren’t just for Fox Mulder, Melinda Gordon, and Rod Serling. Even top academics can’t resist a good ghost story. And maybe that’s for the better: Brilliant ideas often seem crazy at first. Scientific American dubbed the Wright Brothers “the Lying Brothers” despite test flights witnessed by trainloads of startled onlookers. More obscure findings can fare worse: Germs, quarks, black holes, and continental drift were all once considered laughable. Still, impeccably credentialed scientists persist, as Lewis Carroll’s White Queen says, in trying to believe a few impossible things before breakfast—or after they’ve received tenure…”

Click here to read the complete article.

The God Chemical: Brain Chemistry And Mysticism
by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

All Things Considered · For much of the 20th century, mainstream science shied away from studying spirituality.

“Sigmund Freud declared God to be a delusion, and others maintained that God, if there is such a thing, is beyond the tools of science to measure.

But now, some researchers are using new technologies to try to understand spiritual experience. They’re peering into our brains and studying our bodies to look for circumstantial evidence of a spiritual world. The search is in its infancy, and scientists doubt they will ever be able to prove — or disprove — the existence of God…”

Click here to listen to the episode on NPR.