It was supposed to be a convertible, but the concertina metal bits that supported the canvas top were too rusted to fold back.

NEWYORKER: Hand on the Shoulder

The authorities are now looking for anything that might have been part of the explosive devices - bits of metal or sharp objects that they might be able to trace back to its owner or owners.

BBC: Forensics investigators decode the Boston bombings

In this room was a gas heater that had an improvised exhaust system attached to it made from bits of sheet metal hammered together.

CNN: A visit to Osama bin Laden's lair

And when it's time to combine the two, the chef suggests straining the sweet potato mixture by mashing it down into the strainer with a metal ladle, to keep any chunky bits from getting into the pie.

NPR: A Thanksgiving Meal From The Test Kitchen

In most auto factories, the leftover steel cutouts are stacked up, then sold to a foundry, where they are melted with other bits of steel and converted into scrap metal.

FORBES: How GM Makes $1 Billion A Year By Recycling Waste

It turns out that those selenium "doughnuts" can be packed tightly onto a metal surface without touching, thanks to their soft shells, which could allow more bits to be packed onto a hard drive, or be used in quantum computers and next-gen displays.

ENGADGET: Researchers stumble onto 'lava' generated quantum dots, could power future peripherals