You'd think water heaters would be about as dull a subject as you could find, right? Well, we just might have some surprises for you.

The Houdini Showcase comprises bizarre water heater installations we've run across in the course of our work. You'll find yourself asking, "Why would anybody stick a water heater there?"

In the Closet of Horrors, you'll learn that Halloween can occur any night of the year. Water heaters can be scarier than werewolves and goblins.

The Weingarten Collection gives you a peek at how people heated water a hundred years ago, when the idea of daily bathing was in its infancy. Today, there are just a handful of manufacturers, and one water heater looks much like another. Back then, there were well over a hundred and water heaters stood out from each other, with fancy shapes and scrollwork. Some of the early designs incorporate features that are superior to what is used today.

The House on Hummingbird Hill is another project of Larry and Suzanne Weingarten. It uses hot water in interesting ways, while offering up a philosophy and lifestyle that are quite a bit different from mainstream American homebuilding of the recent past. However, it suggests a viable future for the American dream of home ownership at a time when past methods no longer seem so workable. It showcases energy efficiency, low maintenance and low building cost, as well as a couple of water-heating components that are discussed elsewhere on this site: the GFX Heat Exchanger and manifold plumbing. Instead of hearing us describe them, you can see them in action.