Tufa
The strange rocks with the funny name
When the right combination of conditions exists, as is the case in California's Mono Lake, huge stone formations much like stalagmites can form underwater. And then it gets weird.
Saffron
The ultimate culinary delicacy
The world's most expensive food product, saffron is an essential component of such dishes as bouillabaisse and paella. Figuratively, it's worth its weight in gold. Literally, it's worth about a fifth of its weight in gold.
The Milgram Obedience Experiments
Just following orders
Controversial experiments conducted in the 1960s showed that ordinary people were willing to inflict pain on others rather than disobey an authority figure.
Atlantropa
The audacious (and deeply misguided) plan to merge Europe and Asia into a new continent
Running out of space to put all these Europeans? No problem. Let's just put up some dams, drain a large portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and thereby create enough new land to join Europe and Africa into a new continent. That was the theory, anyway.
Oysters Rockefeller
The secret of name recognition
The original recipe for this tasty dish of oysters with greens is a closely guarded secret, right up there with that of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Coca-Cola.
Top 5 Superheroes Whose Secret Identities Are Introverts
Saving the world can take a lot out of you. How do you get it back?
Before (or after) saving the world, you need to recharge. Some of the most beloved superheroes, while inhabiting their secret identities, gather their strength from solitude.
SETI
The real-life quest to find E.T.
From nerdy computer geeks to serious scientists, thousands of people around the world are involved in a quixotic search for evidence of intelligent life beyond our planet. (Whether Earth itself contains intelligent life is increasingly in doubt.)
Password Managers
These apps make most password problems magically disappear
Nobody likes having to deal with passwords, but a class of apps (some of which are free) can eliminate most password pain while keeping you much safer.
Cows with Best Friends
Why encouraging bovine socialization is good for both cows and farmers
Cows are more social than most of us realize—and picky, too. Many cows have best friends, and they're happiest when they get to stay together.
Chinese Five Spice
The multipurpose mixture that may or may not contain approximately five spices
Here's a fun experiment. Compare the ingredients of any two brands of Chinese Five Spice. Odds are, they'll be different. Bonus points if one of them has more (or less) than five ingredients.