Mark Twain called it “the most delicious fruit known to men.” He was referring to the cherimoya, a living fossil from the highland valleys of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Ripe cherimoya spoils quickly and is hard to ship, so it’s considered a luxury...
Some beautiful things are deadly. The F-22 Raptor Japanese katana swords Box jellyfish Blue-ringed octopi Lava flows You will rarely encounter them in your living room. More common and a few rungs down the hazard scale are many popular houseplants. When ingested, they...
Nothing lasts forever. Civilizations rise and fall — none have endured more than a few thousand years. The sun will run out of usable hydrogen in roughly 5 billion years. The Milky Way will collide with the Andromeda Galaxy in ~4 billion years, forming a new galaxy....
Everything has its fads — even gardening. Pizza gardens with each “slice” growing a different pizza ingredient. Plant parenting, or treating garden plants like pets or children, complete with names, personalities, and even Instagram accounts. Moon...
We tolerate some high-maintenance things without much complaint: The classic English sports car with finicky mechanics Saltwater aquariums with precise water chemistry and temperature demands High-end fabrics like silk, cashmere, and leather with special cleaning and...
Staghorn ferns don’t grow in soil. In the wild, they cling to trees, rocks, or cliff faces, absorbing moisture and nutrients from rain and decaying leaves. Over time, multiple ferns fuse into a giant colony that can blanket entire tree trunks. They don’t...
