The Atlas Obscura Podcast

In 1930, the King of Thailand gifted a tree to the University of Hawaii in Manoa for developing a treatment for leprosy. For decades, the tree has stood as a symbol of the groundbreaking scientific achievement. However, the woman who created the solution was missing from the story.
Read Alice Ball’s Master’s Thesis on the Kava Plant, and Dr. Hollman’s JAMA article crediting Alice Ball. And check out The Ball Method Film.
We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to [email protected]

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In 1912, Piltdown, England wasn’t known for much. It was a quiet rural area with farms, winding tree-lined roads, and a pub. But then, a lawyer announced he’d made an incredible discovery in a local gravel pit: a skull that was part ape, part man. England was enthralled. Was this the missing link between humans and our ancestors? Could England be the birthplace of humanity?

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This story is about a heist that took place back in 2013 – not at a museum, or a gallery, or a royal palace, but at a garden. What these thieves were after… were Venus Fly Traps. We visit the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden in Wilmington, North Carolina to learn about plants that eat meat, a venus fly trap lover with a vanity license plate, and the shocking $20,000 heist that’s still an unsolved mystery.
Learn about visiting the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden…
If you’re in the market for a Venus Fly Trap, check out this guide from the US Fish and Wildlife Service about how to avoid poached plants
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We're working on an episode about interesting places to lay your head -- and we'd love to hear YOUR story about the places you have stayed during your travels. Tell us why and how you picked that place, and what made the experience of staying there good, bad, funny, interesting, or impactful? 
Maybe you had a terrible experience at a five star hotel after booking it months ahead of time, or maybe you got lost finding your way to a cabin  We wanna hear it all. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to [email protected].

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A one-room museum located in the basement of a church-turned-community arts center is crammed with mementos from a pretty spectacular period in history. We hang with some retired dancers who recall the time when Chinatown in San Francisco was filled with late night cabarets famed for their showgirls.
READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/showgirl-magic-museum-san-francisco-california

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