Saint-Pierre & Miquelon
France’s North American territory
You can go to France without leaving North America! A little-known group of islands off the coast of Newfoundland is French territory. It may be just a one-hour ferry ride, but be sure to pack your passport and some Euros.
Curling
Throwing stones for fun and profit
Don't think of it as a boring and inscrutable Canadian sport. Curling is a subtle, sophisticated, team version of lawn bowling on ice. Bring your own broom.
Lichens
A tale of two organisms
What do fungi, algae, and Peter Rabbit have in common? They were all drawn by Beatrix Potter, who was one of the first to suggest that lichens may actually be a symbiosis of fungi and algae.
Rebreathers
Taking scuba to new depths
Scuba divers who need to spend extra time underwater or move as silently as possible can strap on a device that stretches their oxygen supply while minimizing bubbles.
Bhutanese Archery
Shooting game
The national sport of Bhutan is not merely a matter of hitting a target with an arrow. In fact, mischief and spectacle play a much larger role than accuracy.
Chinooks
Snow-eating winds of the Rockies
A meteorological phenomenon that can bring extreme temperature changes within a short period of time, chinook winds are created when warm, wet winds blow from the Northwest coast of North America over the Rockies.
The Artwork of Rigo 23
Painting by the numbers
Some of San Francisco's best public artwork was made by an artist who changed his surname every year from 1982–2002. He's now known as Rigo 23, but his masterpieces are timeless.
Image-Stabilizing Binoculars
Complex solutions to a simple problem
Borrowing technology from military and space applications that also appears in your smartphone or digital camcorder, some fancy binoculars can keep a highly magnified image from shaking even when your hands are unsteady.
Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden
Mining salt in Bavaria
If you want to contemplate the magical powers of salt, there's no better place than a salt mine. This one near Salzburg in Bavaria is open to tourists and features an underground salt lake.
Skara Brae
House of sand and rock
A neolithic stone village in Scotland was preserved by being covered with sand for thousands of years. Now wind and water threaten it again.