I've been working on the place's database at Atlas Obscura for just over five years now.

In that time, I've learned about things that I never would have imagined.

A desert plopped in the middle of a forest.

An observatory built in the crater of an extinct volcano.

A 12th century abbey with a gargoyle in the shape of a xenomorph from the alien movies.

I could go on, and I could do it for a while.

People often ask me which place in the Atlas is my favorite.

I want to say that it's hard to choose, that there are endless wonders and infinite possibilities and singling out one

entry as my favorite would be impossible. But the truth is that it's not hard at all. There's one

place that stands out among the thousands of entries that I have seen over the years. It's a

towering sculpture of a hand with a face,

and its name is Quasi.

I'm Michelle Cassidy, and this is Atlas Obscura,

a podcast about the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous places.

Today, Places editor Diana Hubble and I

have two stories for you

about polarizing pieces of public art.

There's a giant hand

and an even more giant horse,

both of which have been described as cursed,

but for very different reasons.

More after this.

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