Did You Know?

A Taste for Jujubes

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 13:30:02 +0000

To me, jujubes were always the little chewy things that I never let my kids eat. A mix of sugar, modified starch, modified palm oil, pectin, synthetic dyes, natural and artificial flavours. Not exactly toxic, except maybe to the teeth, but certainly devoid of any exceptional nutritional value. You will therefore understand my surprise when I was asked if it is true that jujubes can fight cancer, improve brain function and extend life.

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.

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!

Kier’s Four Tempers: Psychological Fact or Fiction?

Simran Dhir BSc — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 18:52:17 +0000

With the finale of the second season of Apple TV’s most popular show, Severance, being on everyone’s mind, here is a look into some of the (pseudo)science that inspired core concepts explored in this psychological thriller, starting with Kier’s four tempers.

*Cue the Severance theme song*

A Sticky Story

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 15:59:24 +0000

The 1995 season of Seinfeld ended with the death of George’s fiancée. Poor Susan was poisoned. And it was all George’s fault. It seems the prospective groom had purchased the cheapest envelopes for wedding invitations and Susan was done in by licking hundreds of envelopes. The implication was that the glue was toxic and furthermore that the tragedy could have been avoided had George not been so tight. Apparently, more expensive envelopes would have been less toxic. Could this episode have been based on some real life event? Hardly.

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

RECCO Reflectors Echo Safety Signals

Cat Wang, B.Sc. — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 20:56:48 +0000

A goal of mine in 2025 was to tackle a new outdoor sport: backcountry skiing. With the promise of untracked snow and uncrowded runs, venturing off-piste was enticing. But with that also came the need to ensure safety — I geared up with an avalanche kit, most of which was intuitive: Shovel? Check. GPS? Check. But one thing that kept coming up was the RECCO tag on all sorts of gear. As I read the logo time and time again, I wondered — what was this technology?

A Little Hairy Chemistry

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 04:56:10 +0000

Hair is composed of a type of protein called keratin that is formed within the hair follicle, a cavity in the skin surrounded by cells that provide the amino acids and other components needed for protein formation. Genetics dictates the specific fashion in which the follicle assembles these components into the three-dimensional structure proteins, and it is this structure that then determines if an individual’s hair will be curly or straight.

Harm from Noise-Cancelling Headphones? More Questions than Answers

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 18:50:51 +0000

Are noise-cancelling headphones making it harder for teenagers and young adults to understand speech in a noisy environment?

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.

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.

The Truth About Oysters as a Valentine’s Day Aphrodisiac

Christopher Labos MD, MSc — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 22:18:26 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

As you are reading this you have just enough time left to make Valentine’s Day plans and salvage the looming disaster brought on by your forgetfulness. The premium you will pay on flowers purchased at this late date should be a learning experience. You may try to be creative and bring some fresh oysters as a surprise. But lest you delude yourself into thinking they are an aphrodisiac, they are not.

An Ode to Chocolate

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:45:15 +0000

I have always liked chocolate. I grew up on it. Every morning my mother blended a heaping spoonful of cocoa powder with a little milk, some sugar and a touch of salt (to decrease the bitterness). She then stirred the mix into gently boiling milk. This was my breakfast beverage. I was told it was “good for me.” I never questioned that fact. Why should I? It tasted great. I really didn’t see the need to put up a fuss, like say, for spinach. As I got older, the love of hot chocolate naturally paved the way towards chocolate bars. Mostly Lindt and Suchard.