It isn’t a blend of wines from the Bordeaux region of France to sell to undiscerning customers. Bordeaux mixture is a fungicide made of copper sulphate and calcium hydroxide, the latter better...
The classic stench of rotten eggs produced by a stink bomb is produced when the ammonium sulphide in the stink bomb breaks down to hydrogen sulphide and ammonia. Commercially, this ammonium...
If you take a look at all the literature put out by the French wine industry, you'll start to wonder whether you should replace wine drinking by intravenous infusions of red wine. They make a case...
Believe it or not, shrimp and lobster have something in common with carrots. They have a good dose of carotenoids in their body. Carotenoids are yellow-orange compounds that are quite widespread in...
“A single espresso a day can damage heart.” “Just one espresso can put your heart at risk.” “One caffeine-packed cup can slow blood flow to the heart by 22%.” Whoa! Those are headlines that can...
What makes us exchange saliva, sebum, bits of food and millions of bacteria with each other? In other words, why do we kiss? This is not an innate activity. South Pacific islanders, for example,...
During the Middle Ages monks were required to shave the crown of their head, a function commonly performed by itinerant barbers. Also, under ecclesiastic law, monks had to be periodically bled....
Onion chemistry is extremely fascinating and extremely complex! We’ve been intrigued by this vegetable ever since our prehistoric ancestors gathered and cooked wild onions. By the time of the First...
A sensational sounding e-mail about “exploding coffee” has been making the rounds. It describes the misadventures of an unfortunate soul who heated up water for coffee in a microwave oven. When he...