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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Decades before New York City’s subway system opened to the public, an eccentric inventor set about building his own underground system – IN SECRET – beneath Broadway. It wasn’t powered by steam engine…or electrical engine…or even horses. It was powered by pneumatic tube (yes, like those tubes you occasionally see at the bank, or at cannabis dispensaries.) We chat with Matthew Algeo, author of “New York's Secret Subway: The Underground Genius of Alfred Beach and the Origins of Mass Transit.”

Find out more about New York’s Secret Subway and Matthew’s other books at his website. (And check out our previous episode about Pedestrianism to hear more.)

We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com

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Toward the end of his life, the great inventor Thomas Edison became obsessed with one final project: finding a source of rubber that could grow in the United States. It would transform his Florida home into a bonafide botanical laboratory.

This episode was produced in partnership with Fort Myers – Islands, Beaches and Neighborhoods.

Find more information about the Edison and Ford estates here. If you’d like to learn more about Edison’s life in Florida check out this biography by Michele Wehrwein Albion. Find out more information about Henry Ford’s search for rubber sources in a previous episode of the Atlas Obscura podcast, “Fordlandia.”

We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com

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A stranger on an overnight bus ride causes a woman to contemplate her future. This essay originally appeared in Off Assignment.

Plus, Off Assignment is offering a writing course this spring, called Writing the Mundane. Early bird pricing is on until February 9! Sign up here: https://offassignment.com/writing-the-mundane

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Co-host Kelly McEvers and producers Johanna and Amanda answer questions about places that exceeded expectations, finding yourself in dicey situations while on the road, and what to do when you have a lot of visitors but not a lot of money.

If you have a question for our next mailbag episode, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message. You can also record a voice memo and email it to us at Hello@AtlasObscura.com, or simply email your question.

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Welcome to the Judith A Basset Canid Education & Conservation Center, where a California couple has dedicated their lives to showing folks man has even more best friends than previously thought.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-jab-canid-education-and-conservation-center-jabcecc

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Today, we go on a special journey told in two parts, beginning with the world’s largest conveyor belt in the Western Sahara and ending on your dinner plate.

We always want to hear from you! If you have a question or story for us, give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message, or send an email to hello@atlasobscura.com.

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Have you heard of the Painted Lady butterfly?

Scientists say this small speckled beauty – no more than 6 cm across – endures the longest migration path of its species.

Photographer Lucas Fogalia dared to follow the path of this butterfly in his photo book, Constant Bloom, and he says the journey reveals a rich story of strength and vulnerability in our interconnected world.

Check out: Lucas Fogalia’s book, “Constant Bloom”:

https://www.nazraeli.com/complete-catalogue/lucas-foglia-constant-bloom

Take a peek at some of the images from the bBook: https://www.lucasfoglia.com/constant-bloom/

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 hello@atlasobscura.com

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