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After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hachiko-hachi-shibuya-station See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world's oldest rose is so tough it survived being bombed in World War II. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-thousand-year-rose-hildesheim-germany See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Canadian community comes together to save its slithering neighbors... the largest single concentration of harmless garter snakes in the world Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/narcisse-snake-dens See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humans have a primal need to honor their dead. We take you on a tour of our favorite communist mummies. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/atlas-obscura-s-guide-to-communist-mummies Our theme and end credit music was composed by Sam Tyndall. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Giant busts of U.S. presidents are slowly crumbling in a field in Virginia.  Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/president-heads See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A spectacular art installation is hidden inside an all-luxury shopping mall in Las Vegas.  Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/akhob See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Six tiny houses built for working class people form the largest intentional cluster of Wright homes anywhere.  Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/frank-lloyd-wrights-burnham-block  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A swath of land in Northern France still bears scars of the destruction of World War I. Destruction so bad that, in some cases, humans have never been allowed to return. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/zone-rouge Our theme and end credit music was composed by Sam Tyndall. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A rapidly disappearing glacier holds the key to a forgotten species, a century-old entomological mystery, and… an opera. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grasshopper-glacier See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A graveyard in the “Granite Capital of the World” pays tribute to stone cutters and artisans who are buried amongst the sculptures they created. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hope-cemetery See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An abandoned Russian mining village is literally frozen in time. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pyramiden See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the depths of Northeastern India, centuries-old bridges are not built, they are grown. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/root-bridges-cherrapungee Our theme and end credit music was composed by Sam Tyndall. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For centuries, herdswomen in Northern Sweden have lured cows home with haunting melodies. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-kulning See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The crumbled ruins of the world’s largest flour mill became one of Minneapolis’ most prominent graffiti-writing locations, and later a museum. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mill-city-museum-site-great-mill-disaster See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How an English party animal turned 1620s-era Quincy, Massachusetts into the world’s least likely party town. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/americas-first-banned-book See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A South Carolina ghost story is a harbinger of hurricanes and a window into history. Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/south-carolina-hurricane-ghost See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Visitors leave bananas on the grave of “America’s First Lady of Space,” an early astronaut whose incredible life was forgotten.  Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-grave-of-miss-baker-huntsville-alabama See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world’s biggest treehouse was inspired by a message from God.  Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ministers-tree-house See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The oldest (maybe) swimming pool in Iceland is a stunning oasis built into the side of a lush hill.   Read more in the Atlas: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/seljavallalaug See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A disaster in a seaside town got locals wondering about government conspiracies, weather control, and if human beings could actually, truly for real, make it rain. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.