Its greatest exponent is Yasuki Hiramatsu, born into a family of metalsmiths, who, through an annealing process, can twist a single length of gold or silver into a ring or necklace enchantingly resembling a minimalist bird's-nest.

ECONOMIST: Contemporary jewellery

It even includes more esoteric bar items like a bird's-nest double strainer used to remove small shards of ice from a shaken drink (to keep the cocktail from getting too diluted) and an ice pick, should you be interested in mastering the art of carving huge globes of ice for your Scotch.

WSJ: Bar Kit From Bombay Sapphire and Barking Irons: Have Bar Gear, Will Travel

Historically, all the expensive and most sought-after food ingredients have been those with purported health benefits - consider bird's nest soup or sea cucumber.

BBC: Viewpoint: Asia's evolving taste for wine

The six-foot-long nose, with a bird's nest swaying at the end of it, was somebody else's thought.

ECONOMIST: Ollie Johnston

They say they can keep rain from falling on the Bird's Nest Stadium during the opening ceremony - the stadium has no roof - but scientists elsewhere are dubious about that kind of technology.

NPR: Beijing Preps For Opening Of Olympics

Beijing's Bird's Nest, the wonder of the world in 2008, is underused, goggled at by day-trippers and the odd concert-goer.

ECONOMIST: London's Olympics