It's a mystery to us why the beans didn't thank BATW Ambassador Rainer Knopf, plus his pals Lynsey, Martin, Joan, Lisa, and Robyn sooner!

Hi there, mysteriously canned vegetables and those who love a good ghost story, and welcome to the world famous Winchester Mystery House! Located in San Jose's Santana Row district, the Winchester Mystery House is part tourist attraction, part architectural wonder, and an extra large scoop of eccentricity, all wrapped up in a 160 room estate. 160 rooms? In one house? Naturally, the beans are mighty jealous of having that leg room - all they've got is their little metal can, and when you're squeezed in with several hundred of your compadres, there's little space for "quiet time." Still, the beans are thankful that they don't have to pay the heat bill for a 160 room house, so I guess everything has its plusses and minuses.

The backstory of the Winchester house is an interesting one; it was actually built by the incredibly wealthy (and incredibly eccentric) Sarah L. Winchester, with work crews working 24 hours a day, nonstop over 38 years. Wow, all that constant hammering and banging would've driven the beans mad, but as long as the neighbors didn't complain and the unions didn't protest, then more power to her, I suppose. So here are the beans, with their new pal Rainer. Rainer was in town from Dublin, Ireland, by way of Germany, and he and the beans clicked so well that the beans actually went home to Ireland with Rainer. So until we hear from them again (hopefully they didn't end up as a side dish with a pint of Guinness), we'll just have to assume they're having just as much fun on the Emerald Isle as they did in the House o' Mystery.

You see, ol' Sarah was the $20 million dollar heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, so she had the scratch to do whatever she pleased. But unlike other famous heiresses, she didn't blow her inheritance on wild Vegas parties and overpriced defense attorneys -- she spent it on building this fantastic Victorian home. Why, it's like Graceland on overdrive - only without a Jungle Room. (That was probably supposed to be room #161.) Here the beans line up with their friends (left to right) Martin, Lisa, Lynsey, Joan, Rainer, Robyn, and Hymie as they prepare to take the official Mystery House tour. The friendly tour guides claim that they'll take you through or past 110 of the rooms during the 90 minute tour, and while the beans didn't exactly keep track, they're pretty sure from their tired little bean feet that the count must've been accurate.

So more about this amazing house and one little old lady felt that she needed to have enough rooms to put even Aaron Spelling to shame: The story goes that after the early deaths of her young daughter and her husband, Sarah Winchester went to see a psychic who told her that continuous building on her house would give her eternal life while appeasing the spirits of those killed by the Winchester rifle (which in the Old West sent plenty of gunfighters and banditos to Boot Hill). So Sarah built - and built - and built some more, constantly adding new walls, staircases, windows, fireplaces, and an extensive garden to her cozy little bungalow. The beans would still like to have a bigger home, but somehow a #10 can doesn't travel as well in a suitcase, and balancing a large mason jar on a balcony railing could lead to an embarrassing mess, so for now they'll just be happy with their little bachelor pad.

Being inclined to believe in things like the afterlife and the supernatural, Sarah had her fair share of superstitious beliefs, which she naturally incorporated into the design of her home. She had a fondness for things numbered "13", so you'll often find designs and patterns with 13 objects incorporated. In honor of that spooky fetish, they hold special after-dark guided flashlight tours every year on...Friday the Thirteenth. There were also a lot of spooky spider-like elements in the home - designs that only Gomez and Morticia Adams would appreciate more than our slightly skitterish frijoles. But despite their "Ghost and Mr. Frijoles" tendencies, the beans thought that Friday the 13th would be a great time to come - armed with only a flashlight, you too can have the opportunity to come face to face with the spirit of Mrs. Winchester as you prowl through her home in the moonlight. The beans are looking forward to doing this the next time it's Friday the 13th, and they'll be sure to bring a spare label, just in case they do see a ghost and end up needing to change theirs in a hurry.

Inside the house on the tour they show you a lot of things that defy logic - or sanity, for that matter. Like this window build into the floor. Is it truly...mysterious...or is it just poor planning? Or was there a deeper meaning to Sarah's design plans, like staircases that go nowhere, doors that open to solid walls, or picture windows where an area run should be? I mean, we really don't know what was running through the old dear's mind when she decided to build a window in the middle of this room's floor, unless she thought maybe she was going to catch a tiger in the room below. Hey, with everything else you find in this house, anything is possible. The beans once thought it'd be a good idea to have a glass bottom, so that they could look out at the world below them. But instead of seeing an interesting view like tropical fish or wide-spreading vistas, all they saw was a lot of road and the occasional dirty pair of Chuck Taylors, so they took out the glass and put the tin back in. It doesn't let in as much light, but it beats looking at mud and sidewalks all day.

The beans were lucky enough to have Michael as their excellent tour guide, who even let them into Mrs. Winchester's kitchen and pantry, so that they could see the World's Thinnest Cupboard. What mysterious things could possibly fit inside this tiny cabinet, Michael asked us. Postage stamps? A single layer of spaghetti? Well, as you can see, a certain can of black beans sits very nicely, thankyouverymuch. And while some people might gripe about having such a tiny, practically useless pantry built in your kitchen, the beans would like to remind you that there are plenty of people in Manhattan paying good money for a sublet that it's much larger than this...

And since we're showing you some of the truly mysterious things found in this home, let me also show you this strange object...the washing machine! Yes, kids - go ask Great Grandma what this device is for. After you hear her go on and on about how much "fun" wash day used to be back in the days before the Maytag Man made everyone's lives much easier, you'll have a whole new appreciation for picking up your clothes from the floor. Or at least your poor, exasperated mama hopes you will. Anyway, the beans were tempted to jump in for a wash cycle themselves, but instead decided to wait until they made a jucuzzi-style wash basin.

So there you have it - a small sampling of the fun you'll find here at the Winchester Mystery House. But don't just take our word for it - the next time you're in the Bay Area, come on down to San Jose and find out for yourself. The tour is actually quite fascinating, and you'll come away with an all-new appreciation for the mysterious, the unusual, and the bizarre. And if nothing else, at least you'll have some new ideas to toss around if you're ever on "Trading Spaces." As for the beans, they had a great time at the Winchester Place, and they're going to start designing their dream home now. Does anyone know if they make a bell tower and gargoyles in miniature size?