Gingerbread houses are not a Hattikudur-family forte. Every year my mom (a pre-school teacher) insists that my sister and I build a gingerbread house for her classroom. And every year, what should look like a cookie-cutter house ends up looking like a Frank Gehry/Ray Charles collaboration. Perhaps that's why I'm so astounded by the work below. It's all pulled from a Seattle gingerbread show last year, and there's more here. Link via the excellent... READ ON

1. The fruit that tastes like pudding Also known as the chocolate pudding fruit, the black sapote, grown in Mexico and Central America, tastes bitter if you try to break into its tough skin too early. But if you're willing to wait, you'll get a fruit so creamy and chocolatey delicious, even Bill Cosby wouldn't be able to resist. You'll know the pudding is ready when the sapote's hard green casing has turned black and mushy. Then, just crack open the fruit to reveal a... READ ON

We've compiled all the foods you love, and all the places you need to thank for them in one easy-to-skim list. Story for mental_floss magazine by Streeter Seidell. 1. Louis' Lunch, New Haven, Conn. The... READ ON

Whether because of abundant food or lack of exercise, historical monarchs have been plagued with largeness of girth (a true hardship). Here are just a few of the largest kings and queens on record. 1. Itey (ca. 1490 BCE) Sort of an ancient Egyptian punch line, this corpulent queen ruled over the mysterious land of Punt, located somewhere in East Africa. So how exactly do we know of the great monarch's girth? Well, the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut launched a trade delegation to Punt, and carvings on... READ ON