N8B99's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Marseille, France

Château d'If

This historic island prison holds one of the dungeons from the Count of Monte Cristo even though it is a work of fiction.
La Ciotat, France

Gare de la Ciotat

This little train station is forever immortalized in film history.
Baghdad, Iraq

Victory Over America Palace

This former monument to an invented Iraqi victory was turned into a military camp during the subsequent invasion.
Abdali, Kuwait

'Highway of Death'

This road earned its macabre nickname after hundreds of Iraqi troops died along it in 1991.
Augusta, Georgia

Haunted Pillar

Death comes to anyone who dares to touch this concrete column.
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Thailand

Buddha Head in Tree Roots

One of Ayutthaya’s most iconic locations is a mysterious, hauntingly surreal miracle.
Mae Klong, Thailand

Maeklong Railway Market

Six times a day a train runs right through the middle of this Thai street market, sending vendors scrambling.
Doha, Qatar

'Untitled (Lamp/Bear)'

This 23-foot-tall bear stands amid the hustle and bustle of Hamad International Airport.
Pawleys Island, South Carolina

Alice Flagg's Grave

Visitors come from all over to bring gifts and tokens to the grave of Alice, who is thought to have died of a broken heart.
Washington, D.C.

Sweet Home Cafe

This unique museum cafeteria showcases the history and regional diversity of African American cuisine.
Washington, D.C.

Bare-Chested George Washington

Perhaps the most scandalous statue of America's first president.
Washington, D.C.

Carousel on the National Mall

Washington's iconic carousel has a nice piece of Civil Rights history.
Washington, D.C.

Peacock Room

This stunning blue and gold room changed cities twice before becoming part of the Smithsonian.
Washington, D.C.

Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe

A museum cafe showcases Native American dishes and indigenous ingredients from across the Western Hemisphere.
Washington, D.C.

The Old Patent Model Museum

During the Industrial Revolution this “Temple of Invention” was full of intricate miniature machines and gadgets.
Washington, D.C.

The Preamble in License Plates

The preamble to the U.S. Constitution written entirely from vanity license plates hangs in the Smithsonian museum.
Savannah, Georgia

Plant Riverside

A once-groundbreaking power plant turned into a hotel and mini-museum of archeological and geological wonders.
Savannah, Georgia

The Bonaventure Jogger

An eerie smiling woman looms above the granite tombstones.
Thunderbolt, Georgia

Charles F. Mills Grave Bell

A 19th-century cemetery device to ensure that the prematurely buried would be "saved by the bell."
Collinsville, Illinois

Illinois Woodhenge

Fresh wooden posts have been added to ancient holes to recreate a primitive henge clock.
Collinsville, Illinois

Cahokia Mounds

Once one of the world's great cities, Cahokia was a place of religious worship, trade and mass human sacrifice before being mysteriously abandoned.
St. Louis, Missouri

Whispering Arch at Union Station

Speak to a companion on the other side of the room loud and clear through this architectural anomaly.
St. Louis, Missouri

Compton Hill Water Tower

One of few surviving standpipe water towers in the U.S.
St. Louis, Missouri

World's Largest Amoco Sign

This titanic oil company sign is a reminder of the Americana boom of the 1970s and also its commoditization.