Insect-flower pollination started 50 million years earlier than previously proven

Migrating lighthouses, the hermit house, and artifacts that hide in plain sight. Email not displaying correctly? View in your browser. November 21, 2019 Found: A 99-Million-Year-Old, Pollen-Dusted Beetle This ancient tumbling flower beetle, approximately the size of a pea and immortalized in Burmese tree resin 99 million years ago, represents the earliest evidence yet of insects pollinating flowering plants. It is twice as old as the oldest-known specimen of its kind: The finding pushes back the timeline of insect-angiosperm pollination by a whopping 50 million years. Read More → Migrating Lighthouses Until recently, the Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse stood at the edge of a cliff on the west coast of Denmark, overlooking the North Sea. Each year, the 120-year-old lighthouse was getting closer and closer to the water as the shoreline eroded away, so officials recently hauled it 230 feet inland. It's the latest in a slew of sentinels that are fleeing rising waters. Read more → Atlas Obscura Trips Experience Bhutan’s Festivals and Cliffside Temples Venture through Bhutan's dramatic Himalayan landscapes on this 11-day trip next April, the country's most beautiful time of the year. You’ll meet spiritual leaders as well as hip-hop dancers, visit start-up centers and ancient fortresses, and explore the delicate balance between progress and tradition. Learn more → HERZLIYA, ISRAEL The Hermit House This house features dozens of chambers carved into the soft sandstone cliffs of an Israeli beach. In both the early 1980s and late 1990s, the exterior was virtually destroyed by the sea. It was eventually rebuilt, but is now in ruins. Read more → Community Hiding in Plain Sight A 16th-century Byzantine church, The Agia Dynami, was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was a shrine for pregnant women. Now, the church stands in stark contrast to its municipal surroundings at an intersection in Athens, Greece. This is just one place where history hides amidst contemporary trappings. Take us to your favorite hidden wonders. Share now→ MEDORA, NORTH DAKOTA Wild West Chateau In the 1880s, the cattle industry was booming in the Western United States. Hoping to strike it rich, Antoine de Vallombrosa, the Marquis de Morès, established a summer home in Western North Dakota. A brutal winter would put a quick end to his enterprise, but his house, the Chateau de Mores, still stands in the town of Medora. Read more → CEDAR, MICHIGAN Abandoned Ski Lodge After Sugar Loaf Ski Lodge closed in 2000, the resort was left vacant. But oddly enough, it isn’t empty. Peek through the windows, and you’ll see that the hotel bedrooms are still made-up and trash cans emptied as if they will be accepting residents tomorrow. Read more → Visit AtlasObscura.com · View in Browser · Unsubscribe · See All Newsletters 61 Greenpoint Ave #622, Brooklyn, NY 11222