San Francisco Chronicle

Everybody likes things: Tang Dynasty porcelains, Mickey Mouse watches, diamond rings, mechanical banks, Eskimo baskets, Tiffany lamps, junk we simply cannot throw away. That's why we have so much. Appraisers...

The discovery in Arizona of a fossil termite nest shows that social insects got started on Earth at least 100 million years before previously believed, scientists said. Until the recent...

Here is some practical advice on building a greenhouse. Before you start, find out whether a building permit is required in your city or town. If you're planning to put...

The bride wore a dress made of pure white hemp, and the cake was in the shape of a marijuana leaf. That was at a marriage in the St. Francis...

Searching for the Fountain of Youth took explorer Juan Ponce de Leon all over the Caribbean in the 16th Century. His search might have been shorter had he known this:...

Dusty Baker went to work early, although to a casual observer, it might not have looked like work or anything more serious than a man pursuing idle gossip. At 10:45...

From garden-variety cooks to professional chefs, everyone dreams of the perfect kitchen. Alice Medrich, founder a California bakery chain, longed for acres of counter space, plenty of cabinets and a...

There are 30,000 candy bars under lock and key in a basement. No one may eat them, by order of a federal judge. "It's frustrating when you cannot even give...

Burke E. Burford, a 76-year-old lawyer, had what his own attorney called the "secretary from hell." She fleeced his clients out of $268,000 and then kept her boss in the...

Elementary school students in this San Francisco suburb no longer have to worry about bringing home report cards riddled with Cs and Ds. Like a growing number of school districts...