How Indonesia’s ancient ‘hobbits’ may have evolved to be so tiny

The forgotten Mardi Gras designer, Pokaini Forest, and more. Email not displaying correctly? View in your browser. October 15, 2019 Ancient ‘Hobbits’ When a tiny skeleton dubbed the "hobbit" was discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003, it added an entirely new twig–Homo floresiensis–to our family tree. Their size is an example of an evolutionary "island effect," and new research suggests that they could have evolved from H. erectus quickly, in less than 10,000 years. Read More → Forgotten Mardi Gras Designer Jennie Wilde, one of the only female designers in the early 20th century responsible for two decades of lavish Mardi Gras spectacles, was never publicly credited for her groundbreaking designs. Back then, the making of Carnival (the local term for Mardi Gras) was a secretive affair, kept under wraps by the wealthy social organizations, called krewes, that funded it. Read more → Atlas Obscura Trips Tastes and Traditions of Jewish Montreal Join us on a six-day exploration of Montreal’s Jewish heritage next July as we delve into traditions from across the diaspora, from Iraq to Morocco. We’ll witness how waves of immigration have shaped the city and created one of the oldest, largest, and most diverse Jewish communities in Canada—all while exploring the nuances of Jewish culture in Montreal. Learn more → NAUDĪTES PAGASTS, LATVIA Pokaini Forest Lured by the mysterious heaps of stones and their alleged powers, people have been drawn into these Latvian woods for ages. Read more → Video Mapping the World Through Smell English artist Kate McLean is on a mission to preserve olfactory memory by encouraging people to be curious about the places they live in and explore. With the help of locals, she’s managed to distill a city’s scent down into several fragrant notes—a unique blend of its identity. Watch now → For Sale: Winston Churchill’s Cigar More than a half-century after an usher picked up Winston Churchill’s dropped cigar at a theater in London’s West End, the saliva-soaked memento is up for auction in December. Read more → SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA Paul Kroegel Statue Located in Florida’s Riverview Park is a memorial to Paul Kroegel, the United States’ first wildlife refuge warden and dedicated guardian of Pelican Island. Read more → Visit AtlasObscura.com · View in Browser · Unsubscribe · See All Newsletters 61 Greenpoint Ave #622, Brooklyn, NY 11222