Tableware Taboos
Civilizing Mealtime
The selection of cutlery on the table, how it's placed, and how it may be used, all evolved from a need to reduce mealtime violence.
Caleta Valdés
Defying continental drift
Continental drift is gradually moving South America to the west, while the east cost is eroding or receding due to rising ocean levels. But in one small spot, the continent is growing eastward.
Name Tags
Hello, my name is Joe
Those ubiquitous stickers help to break the ice at conferences and seminars, but there may be good reasons to wear them at other times, too.
House of the Future
Disneyland’s 1957 all-plastic house
Wood, steel, and concrete are so passe when it comes to building materials. The future (as of 1957) would be houses built and furnished entirely out of plastic.
Carfree Cities
Revenge of the pedestrian
Cars can be a blessing and a curse, but the layout of most cities makes them a necessity for many people. But cities can be designed (or redesigned) to minimize car dependence.
Rarely Blooming Plants
The Titan Arum lily, the Kurinji plant, and the Talipot palm
Several unusual plants flower so seldom that one may be able to witness it only once in a lifetime.
Freediving
Taking the oxygen-free plunge
Several forms of extended diving without any breathing apparatus are pushing the limits of human endurance, as well as defying common sense.
Pitcairn Island
Haven for homeless mutineers
What happened to the mutineers on the Bounty? Some of them went on to settle one of the remotest and least understood islands in the world.
Hay-on-Wye
The Town of Books
A small Welsh town has one bookstore for every 79 residents. An annual literary festival draws vast crowds of book buyers, not to mention some of the world's most famous writers.
Mail Recovery Centers
Undead letter offices
When a package gets lost in the U.S. Mail, where does it go? Atlanta, where federal employees try to reunite them with their senders or receivers.