Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Paste Eater’s Grave

Discover Paste Eater's Grave in Goldfield, Nevada: Eulogizing an unknown man's unusual demise.

Memorial to America’s First Circus Elephant

Discover Memorial to America’s First Circus Elephant in Somers, New York: This high-perched pachyderm marks the memory of not one, but two elephants gunned down in small New England towns.

Trompe-l’œil Murals of Hanoi

Discover Trompe-l'œil Murals of Hanoi in Hanoi, Vietnam: Life-sized painted illusions let pedestrians blend in with the street art.

Freezing Newsmen Plaque

Discover Freezing Newsmen Plaque in Washington, D.C.: A small token of gratitude from freezing cold journalists who were given a warm haven while covering JFK's inauguration.

Liverpool Central Library Entrance Riddle

Discover Liverpool Central Library Entrance Riddle in Liverpool, England: The red letters in the literary pavement leading to the library form a mysterious code.

Gaddafi Canal

Discover Gaddafi Canal in Gourma Rharous, Mali: Muammar Gaddafi's well-intentioned investment in his favorite city turned out to be a nightmare.

Man With Fish

Discover Man With Fish in Chicago, Illinois: This awkward aquarium sculpture is one of the strangest statues in Chicago.

The Room of 10,000 Ancient Skulls

Discover The Room of 10,000 Ancient Skulls in Pueblo Libre, Peru: Lima’s Museum of Anthropology is lined with thousands of elongated human craniums.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 474 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 499 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 633 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 135 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 167 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 96 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 166

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