Atlas Obscura

There are a lot of weird places in the world and the Atlas Obscura documents about 700 of them. Among the wacky sights described along with GPS coordinates are: The Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama that sells only items from passenger unclaimed airline luggage along with a museum displaying the more unusual items people have forgotten in their hurry to escape an airport; Heladería Coromoto an ice dream parlor in Mérida, Venezuela with a catalog of 900 flavors, including asparagus, Fried Pork Rinds, and Viagra; and the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat in Cochrane, Ontario, Canada, where, get this, you can go for a swim a pool (separated by 2-inch glass) with an artistic polar bear named Ganuk, who for up to $200 will paint you a picture of his impressions of life in the habitat. The descriptions and pictures make this just as interesting for the armchair traveler as the real world intrepid explorer. This atlas of strange and unique places around the globe is fun to page through, but also an invaluable guide, if you are going on a trip and want to add something shockingly bizarre to your itinerary.