When a package gets lost in the U.S. Mail, where does it go? Either to St. Paul or Atlanta, where federal employees make valiant efforts to reunite them with their senders or receivers.

An elaborate, 240-page manuscript from the 13th century remains one of cryptography's most puzzling artifacts. My guess: it's a student's notebook.

Among the myths circulating about water are that hot water freezes faster than cold water, and cold water boils faster than hot water. But there may be a bit of truth to these claims after all.

The old cure for constipation has also been used as a weapon, and extracts from the same plant produce a deadly poison.

Good brewers around the world still follow a Bavarian law from 1516 that stipulates the only three allowable ingredients in beer. Or four, if you count yeast.

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.

Take tender, young tea leaves and dry them quickly without letting them oxidize for a tea with a delicate flavor and, reputedly, numerous health benefits.

During a thunderstorm, a bright fireball floats through the air for several seconds or longer, perhaps even indoors. This rare phenomenon resists scientific explanations, but don't go blaming UFOs.

A suburb of Venice has been famous for nearly a millennium for producing some of the world's finest and most distinctive glassware.

Just another in the long list of dangerous activities I decline to do and urge you never to try at home is the visually impressive art of spitting fuel onto a flame.

For a traditional Japanese tea ritual, not just any sort of tea cup will do. You want one made by hand using a method from the 16th century that infuses your tea bowl with Zen sensibilities.

Fuel cells generally rely on hydrogen to create electricity, but hydrogen may be hard to obtain. Putting bacteria to work can eliminate a step or two in the process.

With some minor modifications (or the use of a special additive), your diesel-powered car or truck can run on used vegetable oil, potentially saving you lots of money on fuel.

You don't need matches, fancy chemicals, flint and steel, or even a pair of sticks to start a fire. Try a fire piston, a remarkably low-tech device that uses compressed air instead.

When an individual's exposure to news, entertainment, and other media is designed and controlled to match the person's tastes, it spells bad news for the mainstream media.