Single serve coffee machines are soaring in popularity, much to the bewilderment of coffee connoisseurs. However, the gulf that divides these two camps of coffee drinkers may not be all that it seems. The vast majority of the 200 billion coffee drinkers in the United States have likely never had a truly fresh cup of coffee, such that there are no lofty expectations set up for the single serve machine. Convenience, choice, variety and flexibility are the winning combination that have made the single serve machine the new must-have for modern coffee drinkers.

Once a staple in many kitchens, many Whirley-Pop style popcorn poppers have made their way to the back of the cabinet with the advent of microwave popcorn. However, there’s still a great use for these retro machines: coffee roasting. Ideally suited to the coffee roasting process, you can use a Whirley-Pop to custom roast your own beans and get the freshest coffee imaginable. You’ll also earn kudos from guests.

Although most people outside the agricultural industry aren’t aware of it, many nuts are not nuts at all but drupes. Out of a list of the typical nuts in a mixed nut assortment, few people could actually pick out the one real nut: cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts, Brazilian nuts, walnuts, and almonds. If you picked the hazelnut as the only real nut, you’d be right. However, if you picked the peanut, you didn’t pick a nut or a drupe--you picked a bean.

Although the solar system is dwarfed by the size of the universe, and robotic probes may have traveled beyond its boundaries, it is still a vast area. In fact, the solar system is so large that virtually every textbook depiction of it is inaccurate. However, we can still get a good idea of its size by using everyday objects as analogies. It’s an exercise that’s both informative and fun.

Few people realize that the most unsanitary spot in their house is very likely their kitchen sink–often home to more fecal material than the bathroom. However, research from the USDA, the University of Arizona and the University of Florida show that wiping out this germ hot spot is achievable. Using easy and simple-to-follow rules, even the most contaminated areas can be kept clean.

Although you wash your hands after using the bathroom, do you wash your toothbrush? According to research that focuses on the spread of microbial diseases in the bathroom, the flushing of a toilet with the lid open can spray toilet water and waste material as far as six feet away. This article provides easily adopted recommendations on how to avoid toilet mist at home and also on the road.