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Montreal vs Toronto Metro: Rubber or Steel?

21 Jul 2022

I moved to Montreal this year after living in Toronto my entire life. In my opinion, one thing Montreal truly does better is the Metro. It’s cleaner, there are more useful lines and even the colour...

How do erasers work?

10 Jun 2022

These days we are accustomed to pressing the delete key and a word on the screen disappears, ready to be replaced by a few keystrokes. But that doesn't mean pencils and erasers have disappeared. On...

What is this "isobutylene" I keep hearing pop up in the news?

5 Apr 2019

An explosion and fire at a Texas chemical plant fuelled by the extremely flammable gas isobutylene has killed one employee and left the public wondering why such a dangerously flammable gas is...

Are vegetables grown in "tire gardens" safe to eat?

2 Aug 2018

When it comes to chemical composition, tires are extremely complex. Different kinds of rubber, carbon black, vulcanizing agents, antioxidants, antiozonants, polymerization accelerators,...

Latex-Emitting Dandelions

30 May 2017

Ever snap off a dandelion head and see the white liquid seeping out from the stem? It turns out that fluid isn’t sap or poison, but a defense mechanism, in the form of latex! The Lithuanian word...

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