What language do people speak in the Balkans, anyway?

Dance marathon origins, Chinese bagels, and Shark Island. Email not displaying correctly? View in your browser. February 12, 2019 Language Dispute The language situation in the Balkans is so unusual that there is no consensus about what to even call the...thing people speak in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Read More → Dance Marathons During the Great Depression, America’s dance marathon craze was more of a survival strategy than a form of entertainment. Participating didn’t just mean the possibility of a cash prize–it meant being fed and sheltered for the duration of the contest. Read more → LUDERITZ, NAMIBIA Shark Island This deceptively beautiful island was once home to a German concentration camp. Today, the harrowing peninsula is the site of a small memorial and campsite. Read more → Chinese Bagels The recipe for Guang Bing, a type of Chinese bagel, hasn't changed for 500 years. Atlas Obscura recently met with Lin Xiu, the last Guang Bing maker in his village of Fuqing, China, to learn how these centuries-old bagels are made. Watch Now → Tomb Damage Moisture created from decades of visitors has damaged King Tut’s tomb more than any vandalism. Conservators are working to guard the historic monument against the impact of heavy-breathing, heavy-sweating tourists. Read more → POLACK, BELARUS Center of Europe A monument in the Belarusian city of Polotsk marks the exact geographic center of the European continent. Or, so it claims. Read more → Food & Drink Financiers These almond cakes were baked in the shape and color of gold bars, likely in an effort to appeal to 19th-century bankers in Paris. Read more → From our friends at history Mysterious Death A new theory may finally solve the mystery of Alexander the Great’s death at age 32, considered to be one of the most famous false diagnoses of death. Read more → Visit AtlasObscura.com · View in Browser · Unsubscribe · See All Newsletters 61 Greenpoint Ave #622, Brooklyn, NY 11222