From a rubber duck contest to hypnotizing chickens, listeners share stories about annual customs, events and practices that set their hometowns apart from others. 

MORE: We're going to be bringing you more listener-led stories this year, and we need your help. Tell us about a place you went with your parents that was special to you. Maybe it was the annual trip to Niagara Falls or a national park. Or maybe it was just a one-time thing but had an outsized impact. Call and tell us at 315-992-7902 or email us at Hello@AtlasObscura.com.

Reppin MORE of our Weird Hometown Traditions

An audio guide to the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Co-founder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters explore a new wonder every day, Monday through Thursday. In under 15 minutes, they’ll take you to an incredible place, and along the way, you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Our theme and end credit music is composed by Sam Tyndall.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Producer Johanna Mayer takes a trip to the last Sears in New York City, and a Brooklyn landmark, with two people whose lives were shaped by the department store.

The Last Sears in New York City (Classic)

Telescope tourist, rocket scientist and STEAM educator Summer Ash gives us the nitty gritty on the V.L.A. - a 22-mile telescope in New Mexico whose formal name is literally “Very Large Array.” We talk about how this observatory works and what cosmic wonders it’s detected.

Looking Toward the Sky with Summer Ash

CANADALAND host Jesse Brown introduces Dylan to a strange and decaying Quebecois fast food institution… housed inside a giant orange sphere. Today, the orange is a relic of a bygone era. But decades ago, this odd establishment was on track to become the McDonalds of Canada. We hear about the rise and fall of Montreal’s Orange Julep, and how its eccentric founder envisioned a Canada scattered with glowing orange spheres.    

This week, we’re celebrating Canada’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This is the third story in our collaboration with CANADALAND. If you want to hear more stories from their great show, we recommend starting here: 

Crimes Against Nature
The True Story of Sasquatch

This episode was produced by Kevin Sexton.

Canada Obscura: The Giant Orange Sphere

Host Dylan Thuras brings us to a remote island off the coast of Nova Scotia. On Sable Island, we learn how – against all odds – a group of beloved feral horses have not only survived, but thrived. There’s only one problem: Some people want them gone. 

This week, we’re celebrating Canada’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This is the second story in our collaboration with CANADALAND. If you want to hear more stories from their great show, we recommend starting here: 

The Truth About Polkaroo
WTF, Marc Maron is Moving to Canada?

This episode was produced by Kevin Sexton.

Canada Obscura: The Feral Horses of Sable Island

CANADALAND host Jesse Brown tells Dylan the story of a Canadian man who adopted a black bear in the woods of Winnipeg – and how that bear became the inspiration for one of the most beloved children’s characters of all time.

This week, we’re celebrating Canada’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This is the first story in our collaboration with CANADALAND. If you want to hear more stories from their great show, we recommend starting here: 

An Oral History of Just for Laughs Gags
The Newfoundlander 
Who's Behind a Fake Trudeau Sex Scandal

This episode was produced by Kevin Sexton.

Reppin MORE of our Weird Hometown Traditions

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