This five-legged, three-tailed cat mummy isn’t as strange as it seems

America's last free-floating spiral staircase, the world's largest radio telescope, and more. Email not displaying correctly? View in your browser. November 15, 2019 The Five-Legged Cat Mummy When French scientists scanned a 2,500-year-old Egyptian cat mummy in 2017, they saw something surprising: not one cat, but five leg bones and three tails from several cats were inside. But this mummy is not as bizarre as it might seem; it’s likely the remains of cats that died on a sacred site. Read More → PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON Starrett House The magnificent free-floating spiral staircase inside this home in Port Townsend, Washington, is believed to be one of the last remaining staircases of its kind in the United States. Read more → World’s Largest Radio Telescope The largest radio telescope in the world is under construction in the Australian outback. Part of an international, multi-billion dollar project, the radio is meant to listen for evidence of a time within the first billion years after the Big Bang, but the challenges of a harsh desert environment and its denizens threaten the interstellar investigations. Read more → Community Hot Springs and Natural Baths In the Përmet District of Albania, a stone bridge that harkens back to the Middle Ages stretches over a sulfur river. Its warming waters are redirected to the Benja Thermal Baths where locals love to soak. From ancient sinkholes to geothermal pools, there are many wondrous springs like this around the world. Show us the most relaxing ones you’ve discovered. Share now → GUIMARÃES, PORTUGAL Castelo de Guimarães Located in the middle of a historic walled city, Guimarães Castle is a medieval fortress linked to the founding of Portugal. Read more → From the Archives The Italian New Jersey Accent, Explained Television shows that depict New Jersey Italian culture have casts that are heavily Italian-American, but few of them can actually speak the Italian language. Regardless, when they talk about food, even food that’s widely known by the non-Italian population, they often use a specific accent. And it’s a weird one. Read more → From our friends at Quartz Finland’s Internet Wonderland Nokia’s collapse turned a sleepy town in Finland into an internet wonderland. The Finnish town of Oulu, with a present-day population of around 200,000, thrived after the tech company eliminated thousands of jobs and saw millions down the drain in 2018. Read more → Visit AtlasObscura.com · View in Browser · Unsubscribe · See All Newsletters 61 Greenpoint Ave #622, Brooklyn, NY 11222