If Ripley's Believe It Or Not ever ventured into the realm of cooking shows, this episode would defy the imagination. Three American college students living abroad accidentally started a fire in their apartment after purchasing pasta from a local market and attempting to cook it without any water.

Despite its almost universal availability, the young women insisted to fire department officials dispatched to the scene that their exclusion of water was an honest mistake, and that they genuinely did not know water was necessary in the process of cooking pasta.

Italian newspaper La Nazione confirmed the account, explaining that the damage was limited to a few articles of kitchen furniture. Naturally, the students' culinary adventure attracted jeering commentary, especially from Italian natives who've had their fill of ugly-American stereotypes.

Fortunately for them, though, one person who took notice was famed restauranteur Fabio Picchi. Instead of sarcastic barbs, Picchi offered the students a four-hour culinary lesson, which would conclude with lunch with the chefs at his restaurant in Florence.

"I feel guilty," Picchi told La Nazione.

"I feel there was a strong communication deficit on the part of this city. I think this can be useful to them, but also to us. Understanding is always—with simplicity and cognition—what is beautiful and necessary."

Potential Preaching Angles: Ignorance can lead to embarrassment, but a gracious response can promote healing. Even embarrassing mistakes can lead to redemption.