It’s the preferred poison of Russians, dieters, and college freshmen, but what’s actually inside the fire water? It's rarely potatoes, actually. At its purest, it's mostly ethanol that has been distilled from wheat, rye, or corn and diluted with water. Find out what else is inside the clear spirit.

Starting a hybrid car is as easy as pushing a button, but what’s really beneath the hood? For starters, a 100-lb rechargeable battery pack containing smaller nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries, similar to those in your cell phone.

It’s four inches of spicy, salted, processed meat, but is there actually beef inside the tiny stick? Well, that depends on your definition of meat.

Eighteen-year-old Darby Schumacher is trying to create a safer and healthier world for newborns. The 2014 Thiel Fellowship finalist is working to develop an alert system that tracks vital signs in babies to help combat Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The Tennessee native explains what prompted her to start the project and why she wants to become an entrepreneur.

The energy drink purports to "give you wings," and it has a close, personal relationship with vodka. But it isn't the sugar that amps you up—it's good, old-fashioned caffeine.

The Thiel fellows get a dose of Silicon Valley life as they visit Google’s collaborative workspace, The Garage. After a demo of Google Glass, the group gets hands-on with an innovation exercise to hone their creativity and team-building skills.

You can't see it, but there's a lot going on inside a glass of tap water. The faucet aqua is essentially an invisible cocktail of sulfates, resins, varying levels of lead, and so much more. Find out what else is inside.

What do sex dolls, caulking, and lotion have in common? They all contain active ingredients also found in Trojan's Tingly Warmth Lubricant. Find out what else is inside the slick sex aid.

Scripts for upcoming episodes of Doctor Who have leaked online, but should you read them before they air? It doesn't matter! The scripts aren't the secret to the Doctor's longevity. It's the companions that make or break any given episode, arc, or season, and Angry Nerd can prove it.

Hell hath no fury like a baby's bowel movements. Find out what anti-bacterial and moisturizing agents are in triple-paste diaper cream, helping to keep bums healthy and clean-ish.

Anyone who’s played a round knows that golf isn’t a science, but that’s not the case when it comes to golf balls. The compact, dimpled balls have come along way from goose feathers wrapped in leather—find out what’s inside golf balls.

You can find them on Halloween, at raves, and in the military, but how do the compact, plastic tubes of neon light actually work?

It contains flammable agents and edible wax, but no kiwis are actually harmed in the making of this shoe polish. Find out what’s inside the shoe care product that’ll keep your wingtips in top form.

Just down the road from Facebook and Google, Dr. Phil Wagner runs a laboratory dedicated to optimizing the performance of some of the world’s top athletes.

Jennifer Colliau at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

On ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” Disney characters like Snow White, the Queen of Hearts, and Peter Pan are set against a modern backdrop. Realistic visual effects bring to life the magic and mystery of Storybrooke—the town they now inhabit. Mike Seymour from fxguide goes behind the stunning FX and animation that are needed to create the fairytale mashup.

All you notice is the sweet chocolatey taste, but what ingredients are you really consuming when you sip on a mug of instant hot chocolate?

It keeps your cats healthy and happy, but what’s really inside cat food? From soy flour to sulfates to ground-up meat byproducts it’s nothing but the cat’s meow for the little carnivores.

It’s as American as apple pie and twice as wobbly, but what’s really inside Jell-O? Aside from collagen, the translucent gelatin sweet treat features collagen, sugar, artificial flavoring, and, oh yeah, chopped-up pig and cow hides soaked in acid.

There’s a tech incubator popping up, but it’s not in Silicon Valley—it’s inside San Quentin State Prison. The Last Mile program teaches inmates entrepreneurship skills with the goal that each participant founds a socially conscious, tech-forward company. Award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner goes inside the innovative non-profit and follows inmates as they work to craft a business plan, pitch their ideas in front of venture capitalists, and then, transition back into society.

This year, Industrial Light & Magic celebrates 40 years of creating the impossible. In WIRED's June issue, we present an oral history of ILM, and look at how George Lucas’ little DIY effects shop changed movies forever. Also this month: Silk Road mastermind Ross Ulbricht's journey from drug kingpin to convicted criminal, Senator Cory Booker's attempt to drag the Senate into the 21st century, the global battle over one of Earth’s most plentiful resources, and much more. #WIRED2306 #WIRED

There’s a reason Sriracha is more popular than its fiery competitors. Featuring a mix of red jalapeño chile peppers, flavor profiles that ignite all five senses, and vinegar for an extended shelf-life, we break down the ingredients that make up the rooster sauce.

Fireworks are as synonymous with the Fourth of July as hot dogs and barbecues, but what makes the decorative flashes of light burn so bright? A mix of charcoal, potassium nitrate, and sulfur, among many other ingredients.

In this behind-the-scenes video from the making of ‘Jurassic World,’ director Colin Trevorrow explains why he needed an animatronic dinosaur for one key scene.

Take a look inside the factory in Ada, Ohio where every single NFL game ball is made by hand.

Actor B.J. Novak has a new app for making lists of anything you want. But the real fun is in browsing the lists of celebrities like Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling, and Snoop Dogg.

It’s a new industry, but the world of drone racing is quickly becoming a popular sport. Watch to learn about the tech behind it and find out what the Drone Racing League is all about.

Each year the World Health Organization determines which of the thousands of influenza variants are most likely to circulate. Flu vaccines then use these variants at the starting point when developing the annual flu shot. Find out what’s inside the influenza-warding shot.

The Burke Institute in White Plains, NY is using innovative techniques to more accurately diagnose brain trauma, and hopefully better understand and prevent degenerative brain conditions like CTE.

It's not all twinkly lights, wrapped presents, and Yule logs. Uncover the darker side of Christmas from the 83 million trees that get chopped down to the $616.9 billion spent in November and December.

the NFL made no secret of its desire to bring American football to a new international stage.

Mike Seymour goes behind the visual effects that earned “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” an Oscar nod. See how Industrial Light & Magic crafted complex action sequences, detailed environments, and realistic characters with the help of advanced motion-capture technology and performances from actors like Lupita Nyong’o.

Welcome to the Institute of Illegal Images, San Francisco's museum of LSD blotter paper art.

Acura's NSX hybrid supercar is capable of a blistering 191 mph but to make a car this fast, you have to build it slowly and precisely.

In the DIY sneaker world, where custom can mean anything from Sharpie swooshes to complex reconstructions, Ferrato offers a unique service: He dreams up new shoe designs and stitches them together from scratch. That kind of artistry comes at a price. Ferrato's shoes start at $1000.

Inside the massive Siemens train factory near Sacramento, Ca, building one of the most advanced, and fastest, trains in the US.

In the first episode of the new series Flight Mode, WIRED takes you into a wildly complex mission control where Delta monitors thousands of flights 24/7.

Design FX dives into the incredible special effects of Star Trek Beyond. From the digital construction of the Starship Enterprise all the way down to the extraterrestrials themselves, Mike Seymour takes us into warp drive as he breaks this successful franchise down to its DNA.

Tesla's Gigafactory, under construction in Sparks, Nevada, will be the largest building in the world, by footprint, when it's finished. The batteries it produces are crucial to Tesla's plan to make affordable electric vehicles.

Filmmaker Werner Herzog discusses his new film 'Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World' which examines the Internet and the data revolution.

Genetics is often just moving tiny amounts of liquid around. So Counsyl, a genetic testing company has hired some robots. Actually, they didn’t just hire them; they built their own to do the work most scientists hate doing.

Design FX dives into the incredible special effects of Pete's Dragon. How were the team at WETA able to make Elliot (the titular dragon) appear invisible? Mike Seymour breaks down the techniques used to accomplish this spectacular effect.

The ride-sharing giant is in Pittsburgh for its latest big move: the country’s first autonomous taxi service. Select Uber users can now ride in self-driving cars, with humans at the wheel for an emergency.

Ever wanted to be inside an episode of South Park? At the Paley Center in Los Angeles, the South Park 20 Experience lets you do just that. Taking the twenty most iconic moments of the television series, the South Park 20 Experience gives people the opportunity to take pictures and become part of South Park's best episodes.

WIRED's Peter Rubin entered a thunderdome of wordplay warfare and came out with schticker shock. This is a field guide to the weapons he deployed.

Boeing is putting its newest plane, the 737 MAX, through a grueling series of test flights. Onboard, instead of seats and a meal service, a team of engineers captures data on its performance, and eats snacks from a cooler.

Like WIRED, our 44th president is a relentless optimist. President Barack Obama focuses on the future and the next hurdles that humanity will need to overcome to move forward.

WIRED guest editor President Barack Obama, WIRED editor in chief Scott Dadich and MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito discuss how artificial intelligence might up-end economies and how societies can adapt.

WIRED guest editor President Barack Obama discusses what he’d like to see technology solve in government with WIRED editor in chief Scott Dadich and MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito.

WIRED guest editor President Barack Obama, WIRED editor in chief Scott Dadich and MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito discuss where the center of artificial intelligence research is and where it might be.