The Real Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk; Tarantulas; Jumping Spiders, fishing spiders, trapdoor spiders, Dancing procession of Echternach, Luxembourg; Sufi whirling in Turkey, Sungyung Rite (Java), miracle of St. Januarius in Naples; Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria; wedding customs in Papa New Guinea, Turkey & Korea; Olympic men's marathon of Dorando Pietri in 1908.

The tale of an English ghost who lead to the recovery of a missing human heart; Transylvania's real-life model for the evil Count Dracula.

Segments on unusual occupations include a human mannequin; a man who swallows live poisonous snakes; New Zealanders who herd deer by plane. Segments on hoaxes include an artist who had to prove his skill at forgery to clear himself of a charge of Nazi collaboration; Piltdown man, a supposed prehistoric species found in England in 1911 and exposed in 1953; writings attributed to Caesar and Cleopatra forge in French rather than Latin.

Segments on unusual sports include medieval jousting currently staged near Canterbury, England; an ancient Chinese martial art; Italian cheese-throwing. A feature on nature's unusual survival methods includes the mating habits of the black-widow spider; praying mantis; snail, water flea and pepsis wasp. A look at time includes a history of time measurement; the city hall clock tower in Munich, Big Ben in London.

Segments on unusual death rites include the mummification of Japanese Buddhist saints; the catacombs of Paris; a drive-in mortuary in Atlanta, Ga. (USA) A look at unusual dwellings includes Ponte Vecchio in Italy; a house made of discarded materials in Simi Valley, Ca. A feature on unusual collections includes a 10-ton ball of string and an assemblage of warplanes. Also: the tallest man in modern history; the world's tallest living woman.

A feature with a metaphysical slant contrasts the mining of gold in Brazil's Serra Pelada with a Japanese Buddhist ritual in which priests undertake a marathon pilgrimage. A look at snakes includes the African mamba, grass snake and king snake. Segments on unusual adornments include punk rockers and Japanese geisha. Also: inventor Nikola Tesla.

The Real Man in the Iron Mask, Amsterdam Diamond manufacturing, Hope diamond, Munich Aviary, ancient monuments Venice, Italy, Parthenon in Greece, The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci) in Milan, Italy, the Coliseum in Rome, Aswan Dam and Sphinx in Egypt, Caves of Lascaux, Legoland Billund Resort, dominoes.

A segment on New York City oddities includes a wheat field near the base of the World Trade Center. A feature on amphibians includes the ridley turtle; the silius frog's incubation of its young; the mudskipper. A look at money and greed includes the handling of currency at a Federal Reserve Bank; a Japanese ritual to assure good fortune.

A feature on sharks includes shark-hunting in New Guinea; the search for shark repellent. A segment on unusual sports includes Texas rattlesnake-sacking; boulder-throwing in Switzerland. Unusual museums include one depicting (in plaster) the Peruvian Inquisition; a carnival museum in Connecticut.

A feature on Hollywood includes the history of the Hollywood Sign, movie star's real names and famous lines that were never spoken. Also: pigeon racing in Belgium; blackbirds that invaded a small town in North Carolina; a man who committed suicide with a deck of cards.