In the Soviet Union, x-rays didn’t just give you a look inside the human body. They also gave you a glimpse of the outside world, thanks to music that was imprinted onto this unassuming medical tool. 

Read more in the Atlas HERE. 

Plus: 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 [email protected].

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As a young adult, Paul "Barbs" Barbato gave himself perhaps the world's biggest social studies assignment: make a profile of every single one of the 193 UN-recognized countries in the world. Ten years later, he finally finished. 

Check out Paul’s project – and what he’s up to next – on YouTube @GeographyNow. 

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 [email protected]. 

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In a storefront in Kearney, Nebraska, Morris Press Cookbooks Store houses a massive "Google of family recipes," chronicling nearly a century of American home-style cuisine. To test the archive, producer Jerome Campbell attempts to “bake his way back home” by testing an unusual make-do dessert recipe: A pinto-bean-based cake. 

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We asked you to send us stories about a time you accidentally broke the rules while traveling… and some you really went there. 

Plus, we want to hear stories about a place you love returning to. Where in the world is this place? What fond memories do you have about this place? Why do you return to this place? How often do you visit? Who, if anyone, have you met there? Has this place changed over time? Tell us all about it. Give us a call at (315) 992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Or leave us a voice memo at [email protected]. 

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As a foreign correspondent, Kelly McEvers has found herself detained by the KGB, held up at ISIS checkpoints, and on the front line in Syria. But it was a much more mundane experience that left her feeling in over her head years later. 

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This little house in New Haven, Kentucky is where Thomas Merton aka profit-poet aka the rebel monk tried to get away from the world.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/thomas-mertons-hermitage

Plus: 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 1971, five hippies made a trek through the Amazon looking for rare psychedelic drugs. One of them was Terence McKenna, who, along with his brother Dennis, would go on to change the way Americans thought about “magic mushrooms” forever. We talk to John O’Connor, author of “A Short, Strange Trip: An Untold Story of Magic Mushrooms, Madness, and a Search for the Meaning of Life in the Amazon.”

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Producer Manolo Morales shares a story with co-host Kelly McEvers, about a legendary place in the backyard of our Canadian northern neighbors. 

Plus, we want to hear from you. Tell us about the wonders in your backyard. Is there a strange, unusual or surprising place in your city or town? What makes this place special to you? Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after three minutes so please call in if you get disconnected. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected]

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We visit Jerry’s Hat Museum, where a retiree has turned to an old chapel to house a collection of thousands of hats, pens, odds, ends and other artifacts from his Illinois hometown.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/jerrys-hat-museum-illinois

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Co-host Kelly McEvers and producers Johanna and Jerome answer questions about whether you should experience certain places with other people, the best movies to watch on an airplane, and the delicate etiquette of traveling to places where you know people.

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 [email protected], or simply email your question.

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A producer sits down with Dylan and recounts his trip to a place referred to as “The Venice of Africa.”

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gavie-benin

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