Tip - Lignum Vitae: Wood So Bad-Ass, It's Used to Make Shaft Bearings for Nuclear Submarines (and More)

Lignum Vitae, Latin for "Tree of Life," is the national tree of the Bahamas. It's also the world's densest wood, and has such unusual properties that the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, has its aft main shaft strut bearings made out of the stuff. In addition to being...