Occasionally, work is fun. Today I was doing some research on "miracle fruit" for a food news column when I came upon a reference to the Rare Fruit Council. Charmed, I delved into the RFC (not to be confused with the similarly acronymed Ragdoll Fanciers Club). It turns out there are chapters of the Rare Fruit Council all over the world, including several in my native Los Angeles. (And they have field trips!)

Another miracle fruit tangent led me to the Athanasius Kircher Society. I have long been a fan of Athanasius Kircher, and was glad to see him receive due mention at the Museum of Jurassic Technology. But a whole society? It goes without saying that I am writing an article about them...