The pianos built to lift soldiers' spirits and survive drops from planes

Carpet cleaning piers, decoding Inca knots, and Beirut’s alt-comix scene. Email not displaying correctly? View in your browser. September 12, 2019 Carpet Cleaning Piers During the summer months, you can find Helsinki residents washing their carpets with Baltic seawater on special piers. It’s an age-old tradition that’s been part of the Finnish landscape and culture for decades, but why? Read More → Victory Verticals Despite a nationwide ban on musical instrument production during World War II, the U.S. government was determined to include entertainment that could lift soldiers' spirits. So Steinway & Sons created the Victory Vertical, a piano that was hearty enough to withstand being packed into a crate and dropped out of a plane. Read more → Atlas Obscura Trips Last Chance: Wildlife of the Everglades Join us in Miami this November as we set off on a five-day adventure into the mangroves and swamps of Florida's Keys and Everglades. Alongside local naturalists, we'll explore high and low—in airboats, kayaks, and on foot—in search of the wildlife of this unique ecosystem, from dolphins and manatees to osprey, ibis, and 47 species of orchids. Learn more → From the archives Inca Knots, Decoded During his first year at Harvard, Manny Medrano, with guidance from Professor Gary Urton, decoded the meaning behind a set of six khipus, an Inca bookkeeping method of knotted rope, found in the 17th-century Santa River Valley region of Northwest Peru. Read more → Alt-Comix Scene A generation of creators in Beirut are carrying on the Arab world’s history of expression and frustration through an emerging alt-comix scene featuring deeply personal, auteur-driven stories about war, romance, and everyday life. Read more → GÖTTINGEN, GERMANY Telegraph Memorial A memorial commemorating one of the world’s earliest telegraphs sits outside Göttingen University. Read more → EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND St. Bernard's Well On the banks of the Water of Leith on the edge of Edinburgh stands an 18th-century structure built for a well. Its natural spring waters are believed to have medicinal healing properties. Read more → Visit AtlasObscura.com · View in Browser · Unsubscribe · See All Newsletters 61 Greenpoint Ave #622, Brooklyn, NY 11222