This beautiful pink landmark is allegedly a spite house

Hair-raising contests, soda jerk slang, and more. Email not displaying correctly? [View in your browser](. [73ed94ee-f881-4ea1-8e1f-44f98483021c.png]( December 30, 2021 [Newbury, Massachusetts]( [Plum Island Pink House]( [This abandoned house looms over a salt marsh, its pale pink paint looking like a mirror of the colorful sunsets that so often streak the sky. It’s a celebrated local landmark, one with a definite air of mystery and romance. But the picturesque house’s story is not at all romantic. A local legend says that it’s a spite house, a divorced man’s way of getting the final say against his ex-wife.]( [Read more →]( [Gastro Obscura]( [Drink Like Dickens]( [For party guests in 19th-century London, Charles Dickens appearing with his punch bowl was the Victorian equivalent of a modern host breaking out his acoustic guitar. Whether his guests were ready or not, it was showtime. To Dickens, punch was more than simple party fare. It was a ritual that blended the author’s love for theater, storytelling, and the warm conviviality of a bygone era. And now, you can drink like the esteemed author. Don’t forget the flair. Or the fire.]( [Read more →]( [Atlas Obscura Courses]( [Learn to Decode A Building's History]( [Join Lauren Northup for a cross-disciplinary approach to unlocking the language of buildings, drawing from architectural history, microscopy, historic preservation, and archaeology. We’ll look at buildings across the U.S., from halls that hold the histories of people who were enslaved in Charleston, South Carolina, to buildings erected within Cherokee communities displaced by European colonization—learning how physical structures that have been preserved or destroyed can be central to understanding the history of a place.]( [Enroll Now →]( [From the Archives]( [Hair-Raising Contest]( [The Yukon Territory’s Hair Freezing Contest is a challenge of both art and science, with participants dunking their heads into the Takhini Hot Springs, emerging into the frigid air, and styling their locks into stiff, eye-catching sculptures. Depending on one’s creativity and luck with the elements, the results range from frosty, mop-like tangles to dramatically manicured spikes.]( [Read more →]( [Geometrical Wonders]( [A home can be many things: a place of comfort, a place to create, a place to keep your stuff. At the same time, it can be a place that turns a few heads. From one of the world’s steepest streets, which creates the illusion that every house is sinking, to a 15th-century home that was erected on a tilt to allow wagon traffic to pass, here are some of our favorite lived-in geometric wonders.]( [Read more →]( [The Atlas Obscura Podcast]( [Beechey Island Graves Part 1]( [In this first installment of a classic two-part episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we venture toward frozen graves tied to an infamous Arctic expedition. We follow two groups of adventurers, separated by more than 170 years, and play witness to the disasters that befell them all.]( [Listen on Our Site →]( [Listen on Apple Podcasts →]( [Listen on Spotify →]( [Listen on Stitcher →]( [From the Archives]( [Soda Jerk Slang]( [Anyone up for a “glob”? Perhaps you need a soda jerk to explain. Soda jerks—the person serving soft drinks and ice cream at soda fountains across the United States in the 1930s and 1940s—had white coats, swift fingers, and even swifter tongues. Their linguistic concoctions were as much of a draw as the sweet treats they served up, coining terms such as “Stretch one, paint it red,” “cowcumber,” and “in the hay.” How many can you identify from our list?]( [Read more →]( [Stansted, England]( [Mountfitchet Castle]( [Visitors to this castle would be excused for thinking they had been launched back in time. The Norman motte-and-bailey castle and village is a careful replica of what stood on the site almost 1000 years ago. The 10-acre site has everything from halls to homes, churches to chicken coops, falcons to fertility chairs.]( [Read more →]( [Atlas Obscura Trips]( [Explore Ancient Egypt]( [Egypt’s archaeological treasures have delighted and mystified visitors for thousands of years. Follow in the footsteps of explorers and royalty to experience the thrill of discovery while exploring the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Avenue of the Sphinxes, and King Tut’s tomb.]( [View Full Itinerary →]( [Add a place to the Atlas]( [Subscribe to our other newsletters]( [The definitive guide to the world's hidden wonders.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Visit AtlasObscura.com]( · [View in Browser]( · [Unsubscribe]( · [See All Newsletters]( 61 Greenpoint Ave #622, Brooklyn, NY 11222