History

Chewing Gum Adds to Concerns About Microplastics

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 16:29:11 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

I don’t think I have chewed gum more than a handful of times in my life. It just never appealed to me. But judging by the flattened relics ground into the pavement on sidewalks and the yucky, sticky blobs on the undersides of lecture room desks, I seem to be an outlier when it comes to this practice. However, I’m all in when it comes to exploring the chemistry of chewing gum.

You’ve Been Lied to About Rats and the Black Death

�ٲ��ʴǱ貹 — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 16:02:20 +0000

Rats have long been associated with and blamed for the spread of plague, a disease that has killed over 200 million people throughout the past two millennia. The Black Death, a bubonic plague pandemic, is estimated to have resulted in the death of nearly 50% of Europe’s 14th century population, making it one of the deadliest disease outbreaks in human history. However, emerging research suggests that rats may not have played a central role in the outbreak and transmission of plague.

It’s a Gas!

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 05:35:42 +0000

There were no Guinness Records back in 1772, but if there were, Joseph Priestley would certainly have been awarded one for discovering eight new gases in a single year. That is a record that will never be broken! Priestley, though, didn’t call them gases. To him they were different “airs,” with the most famous one being “dephlogisticated air” which we know today as oxygen.

Toxin on the Backs of Some Frogs Is Lethal to Humans

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 15:44:44 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The blades descend as they have done many times before, threatening to impale the magician’s assistant lying inside the box. But this time the outcome is different. The illusion has been tampered with so that one of the blades does not retract fully as designed and slightly pierces her skin.

The Powder of Sympathy

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 14:41:49 +0000

Four hundred years ago, Belgian physician Johann Baptist Van Helmont was persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church for promoting the use of the “Powder of Sympathy.” The idea had been originally introduced by “natural philosopher” Sir Kenelm Digby who claimed that a powder produced with the help of astrological guidance could heal injuries by being applied not to the injured part of the body but on whatever had caused the injury. Digby’s book on this mythical salve went through 29 editions!

Dipping Into the Science of Olive Oil

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 21:21:10 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette

Voodoo Magic and the Mind-Body Connection

�ٲ��ʴǱ貹 — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 20:43:51 +0000

Is it possible to be literally scared to death? Today, it’s commonly understood that mental stress and negative emotion can contribute to physical health problems including high blood pressure, heart disease, weight gain and more. However, this wasn’t always the case—our understanding of how physiological responses are tied to emotion remained poor until the 20th century. In fact, you may be surprised to hear that investigating the seemingly inexplicable phenomenon of “voodoo” death helped lay the foundation for the study of the mind-body connection.

Roger Bacon, Gunpowder and Virgins

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 18:01:46 +0000

In the 1960's the Dupont Company adopted the slogan: "Better Living Through Chemistry." The catchy motto quickly caught on in an era when science reigned supreme. The space race had captured everyone's imagination and people reveled in the new plastics and fibers produced by a proud chemical industry. Environmental concerns were not yet on the agenda.

A Journey from Broadway Musicals to Whole Body Deodorants

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:59:52 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The Who’s Tommy is not one of the most memorable of the numerous musicals I’ve seen on Broadway. I was not a great fan of the group’s music, but nevertheless in 1993 the show called out to me for the strangest reason.

Naturally, We Should Learn From The Past

Enrico Uva B.Sc. Dip. Ed. — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:09:12 +0000

Methyl mercaptan, also known as methanethiol (CH3SH), is one of the fragrances of human flatus. Interestingly, it has been added to natural gas since 1937 in response to the third worst-ever disaster in the history of Texas. One type of natural gas is methane, and like many of the small alkane molecules, it has no smell, meaning that leaks are hard to detect. That can lead to a dangerous situation since methane is highly flammable as was demonstrated by a tragic explosion in Texas in 1937 that killed 294 people, mostly children, 1/3 of whom were in grades 5 to 7.

It’s Hermetically Sealed!

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:43:40 +0000

According to Greek mythology, Hermes moved freely between the worlds of the mortal and the divine and it was his job to conduct souls into the afterlife. He was quick and cunning, often outwitting other gods for his own satisfaction or for the sake of humankind.

Rhinoceros Horn, Ginseng or “Spanish Fly” to Boost Romance? Hardly.

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 21:42:39 +0000

Named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and passion, these substances are meant to specifically stimulate the libido and represent the Holy Grail for people who in some way feel unfulfilled.

How Celluloid Produced Great Billiard Balls of Fire

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 20:25:04 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

I have a set of billiard balls sitting on my desk in a box with a partially torn label on which the words “Hyatt” and “Billiard Ball Company” are clearly visible. That makes these balls, purchased years ago in Warrensburg, N.Y., at what is reputed to be the largest garage sale in the world, a historic item. However, I wasn’t sure exactly how historic. And that started me on an interesting exploratory journey.

The Male Musk Deer Owes Gratitude to Chemistry

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 18:01:17 +0000

Arab perfumers in the sixth century were the first to discover that diluting the obnoxious smelling dried contents of the little pod found near the anus of the male Asian musk deer not only resulted in a pleasant odour, but when added to perfumes allowed the scent to linger longer. Musk was even incorporated into the mortar of important buildings so that it would waft a pleasant smell into the air. There was even a belief that the aroma had aphrodisiac qualities and would therefore enhance the pleasure of activities that might be engaged in.

Vitamins Are Vital To Life

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 13:00:00 +0000

The term “food accessory factor” was coined by British biochemist Frederick Gowland Hopkins in 1906 after he demonstrated that rats fed a diet of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and minerals failed to grow. Although these substances were known to be the major components of the food supply, they were not sufficient to maintain health. Something was missing. When Hopkins supplemented the diet with minute amounts of milk, the rats thrived. There was something in the milk in addition to the usual nutrients, some “food accessory factor” that was necessary for growth.