Waterstone's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Oxford, England

Pitt Rivers Museum

Ancient Egyptian wigs, South American feather headdresses, a bounty of anthropological artifacts in Oxford.
Oxford, England

The Headington Shark

A 26-foot shark sculpture—a statement about bombs—set off a municipal battle royale.
Oxford, England

The Sheldonian Theatre

A theatre built to house the rowdy Oxford graduation ceremonies became the stage for a debate about God's existence.
Oxford, England

Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology

Used as an example in one of the first dictionary entries for "museum" in 1706.
Oxford, England

Oxford Museum of Natural History

Home to the most complete dodo remains known - one head, and one foot.
Prague, Czechia

Žižkov Tower

Looming communist pillar with a Czech twist.
Dresden, Germany

Deutsches Hygiene-Museum

Over 12,000 hygiene oriented objects and exhibits.
Dresden, Germany

Kunsthofpassage Singing Drain Pipes

When the rain falls, this drain system turns into a musical instrument.
Vienna, Austria

Hundertwasser's Odd Architecture

Op-art architecture designed for happiness.
Vienna, Austria

Sigmund Freud Museum

The former private quarters and office of Dr. Sigmund Freud now hosts a museum housing the works of the founding father of psychoanalysis.
Vienna, Austria

Museumsquartier Passages

This series of Baroque passageways in Vienna's cultural center mix old architecture with modern art.
Chichen Itza, Mexico

El Caracol

No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.
Chichen Itza, Mexico

Pyramid of Kukulcan at Chich'en Itza

Every equinox this Maya pyramid puts on a spooky ancient light show.
Jerusalem, Israel

Shrine of the Book

The home of the Dead Sea Scrolls is an abstract modernist dream.
Kampala, Uganda

Kasubi Tombs Ruins

The burial ground of four Buganda monarchs was nearly destroyed by a devastating fire.
Jinja, Uganda

Source of the Nile at Jinja

A strangely forgotten claimant to the much contested title of "Source of the Nile."
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Eastern State Penitentiary

World's first "penitentiary," meant to be humane, drove men insane.
Bruges, Belgium

The Lucifernum

This former Masonic lodge has been transformed into part museum, part bar, all awesome.
Mount Dandenong, Australia

William Ricketts Sanctuary

A collection of outdoor mystical statues paying homage to indigenous Australians and ecological stewardship.
Spotswood, Australia

Spotswood Pumping Station

A youth-centric science center hides an industrial triumph.
Bundoora, Australia

Larundel Mental Asylum

Dilapidated ruins that once treated a notorious young serial killer, currently hosting vandals, squatters, and ghost hunters.
Parkes, Australia

Parkes Radio Telescope

This giant dish located in a sheep paddock was the primary receiver of Apollo 11 TV transmissions.
Melbourne, Australia

Old Melbourne Gaol

Once housing children next to hardened criminals this historic jail once displayed Ned Kelly's skull until it was stolen.
Black Rock, Australia

HMVS Cerberus

Australia's only intact colonial warship never saw action before being turned into a scenic wreck.