Cara Giaimo's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

Cara Giaimo

former staff writer, forever fan // @cjgiaimo // caragiaimo (at) gmail (dot) com

2015
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Leaderboard Highlights

Cara Giaimo's activity rankings

1^st

Places visited in Jonesport, Maine

1^st

Places added to Manteo, North Carolina

1^st

Places visited in United States / Canada

2^nd

Places added to Outer Hebrides, Scotland

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Places edited in Nye County, Nevada

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Places edited in Visby, Sweden

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Places added to Quito, Ecuador

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Places edited in Vanuatu

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Places edited in Pacifica, California

The Eastern Cougar Is Officially Extinct

So why do people keep seeing them?

January 30, 2018

virtual reality

Jarvis Island, the Cycling Hotspot That Wasn't

Why an abandoned guano atoll was once one of the most popular virtual bicycling routes in the world.

January 29, 2018

The U.S. Government Once Nuked a Bunch of File Cabinets

Operation Teapot's "Project 35.5" tested record-keeping under extreme circumstances.

January 26, 2018

The 'Doomsday Clock' Is Now as Close to Midnight as It's Ever Been

According to experts, threats to humanity haven't been this serious since 1953!

January 25, 2018

Can Street Art Be Moved Without Destroying It?

"Vermonica"—an L.A. fixture for 24 years—was moved without notice, sparking discussions about history, place, and what makes art, art.

January 24, 2018

science fiction

Listen to Ursula K. Le Guin's Little-Known Space Opera

"Rigel 9," a collaboration with the composer David Bedford, tells the story of an astronaut who isn't quite sure where home is.

January 24, 2018

Measuring the Significance of Seabird Poop

By quantifying guano, scientists hope to learn more about nutrient cycles.

January 23, 2018

Will There Ever Be an Anglerfish Emoji?

Two researchers are hoping to diversify our chief communicative ecosystem.

January 18, 2018

Why Ham Radio Fans Want to Spend Next Summer on an Island Full of Bird Poop

Baker Island, in the middle of the Pacific, is also the last place on Earth to ring in the new year.

December 29, 2017

the year in wonder

2017's Most Unusual New Memorials and Monuments

Supermarket cats, rainbow crosswalks, tricked-out Jerry Orbach tribute cars, and more.

December 29, 2017

After the Holidays, Christmas Trees Have More Work to Do

They're sheltering aquatic species, keeping out invasive fish, and holding beaches and swamps together.

December 27, 2017

What Pigeon Spikes Can Teach Us About People

Hostile architecture for birds has a lot in common with hostile architecture for humans.

December 22, 2017

This Fish's Propensity for Deafening Orgies Is Both Its Strength and Its Weakness

A single male Gulf covina is louder than a jet engine.

December 21, 2017

One of 2017’s Most Exciting Plant Conservation Moments

In Ontario this year, researchers propagated a rare species and released it back into the wild.

December 20, 2017

The Incompatible Food Triad Cookoff

To solve a tasty philosophical problem, we whipped up strawberry-mushroom-balsamic tarts and beef-orange-cream pot pies.

December 20, 2017

How Archivists Deal With Redactions, Codes, and Scribbles

Sometimes, obscurity leads to surprising intimacies.

December 15, 2017

Wishlist: A Book That Evolves Before Your Eyes

Fathom's color-coded version of "On the Origin of Species" changes as you read it.

December 15, 2017

A New Multilingual Sign Language Dictionary Looks to the Stars

Hoping to make education more accessible, the International Astronomical Union is compiling all the signs of outer space.

December 15, 2017

the year in wonder

The Artist Shrinking Antarctica’s Glaciers

Using 3-D imaging, Helen Glazer brings the southernmost continent indoors.

December 13, 2017

America's Tumultuous Love Affair With Kudzu

Before the plant was considered a scourge, it was used for decoration, as livestock fodder, and to fight erosion.

December 11, 2017

The Snowy Owls Are Back in Town

Them wild-eyed birds that had been away.

December 7, 2017

How Far Can You Abstract a Map?

Morphology, an exploratory cartographic tool, turns the whole world into swoops and lines.

December 6, 2017

Will 2017 Be the Gävle Goat's Lucky Year?

Everyone's favorite arson-prone ungulate is hoping to survive the season, for once.

December 5, 2017

Before Edward Lear Was a Limerick Genius, He Was a Teenage Parrot-Painting Prodigy

The beloved children's poet spent his own youth "at the West End / painting the best end / of some vast Parrots / as red as new carrots."

December 4, 2017