Using HTTP Methods (GET, POST, PUT, etc.) in Web API

My group has been studying ASP.NET Web API for a major project we're working on, and part of learning about this tech stack is studying how HTTP works, which has been a nice refresher for us. A couple of my teammates asked me to clarify the HTTP Methods (e.

HTTP 418 I'm A Teapot - Just A Joke, Or Something More?

I stumbled across an interesting StackOverflow thread [http://stackoverflow.com/q/24018008/106356] earlier this week.  I had to read it a few times to notice what bothered me: it turns out that there is a status code for HTTP 418 "I'm a teapot".  Why in the world would HTTP