For a science fair project I once helped my son Michael build several bridges of various designs with popsicle sticks, which we then loaded up with whatever amount of weight it took to break them.  I was duly impressed by the strength of those little sticks after breaking into a full-on sweat as I piled 50, 60, 70 and eventually 80+ pounds on those stupid things before they broke.

It ends up that we were definitely in the minor leagues when it comes to using those little sticks.  One Robert McDonald of Florida has built a full-sized replica of a Viking long ship using 15 million ice cream sticks. (The Reuters Photo: at left comes from Yahoo! News).