The Martini
Why everything you know is wrong
James Bond may have ordered his martini shaken, not stirred, because of a shaken martini's greater health benefits. That's just one of several surprising facts about this trendy drink.
The Girolle
One small step for cheese engineering
An elegant pairing of a simple yet ingenious device and a special kind of Swiss cheese adds an artistic touch to your breakfast.
Rise of the Bagel
The hole truth
There's more to a bagel than a piece of dough with a hole in the center. Bagel connoisseurs know the history of this food and the best way to bake (or buy) and eat bagels.
Array Microphones
The more (microphones) the merrier
With the help of some digital signal processing, an array of two or more microphones can pick out a speaker from background noise, and even refocus their signals as the speaker moves.
Kite Sails
A second wind for large ships
Using sails to propel ships is so two centuries ago. But replace the sails with special kites, and wind power turns out to be the most modern way to improve the fuel efficiency of even the largest cargo ships.
San Francisco’s Terra Infirma
Ship to shore
Buried beneath the streets of San Francisco are the remains of numerous ships abandoned when their passengers and crew went to the hills to seek their fortunes in gold.
Origin of the Trophy Cup
Handing it to the winner
Winners of sporting events and other competitions often receive a trophy in the shape of a cup. But why a cup? What does that have to do with victory?
Piñatas
History of a breakthrough
The piñata may be a staple of children's birthday parties in North America, but it apparently originated in China. Or maybe Africa. Ask Marco Polo.
Bread Pudding
Carbohydrates and misleading marketing
It's just like French toast, but in a convenient, dessert-friendly pudding form. You can even make it without a book (or magazine subscription).
FriXion Erasable Pens
How a novel ink formula turned up the heat on the competition
You've heard of using lemon juice to make "invisible" ink that appears when exposed to heat, right? My current favorite ballpoint pen works the opposite way—heat makes the writing disappear!