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Snorting Things to Survive Smallpox?

20 Mar 2017

A powder made from the scabs of pustules on the skin of people who had survived smallpox. The eradication of this horrific disease, which is thought to have first appeared around 10,000 B.C., is...

What is saltpeter used for and is it true it reduces certain 鈥渃arnal urges?鈥

20 Mar 2017

The second part of the question is easy to answer.聽 鈥淪altpetre,鈥 (the term refers either to potassium or sodium nitrate) has no effect on carnal urges.聽 The story that this chemical was put into...

In the 16th Century Someone Tried to Poison Benvenuto Cellini, but Instead Cured his Syphilis... How?

20 Mar 2017

With mercuric chloride, also known as 鈥渃orrosive sublimate.鈥 People have been intrigued by mercury and its compounds for over 3500 years. Ko Hung, an ancient Chinese alchemist was one of the first...

What ingredient in Ivory Soap makes it float?

20 Mar 2017

First, a little history is in order. Soap making is one of the oldest of all chemical processes. There is even a reference to soap in the Bible in Jeremiah 2:22. "For though thou wash thee with...

Who invented scotch tape?

20 Mar 2017

The Scots did not invent Scotch tape. But their reputation for thriftiness did inspire the name of this amazing product. Two-tone cars were the in thing way back in the 1920s and car manufacturers...

What is Borax?

20 Mar 2017

One day a craftsman showed up in the court of Tiberius, Emperor of Rome (14AD to 37AD), to present the ruler with a beautiful transparent glass vase. Just as he was about to hand the vessel to...

Why is Iodine added to Salt?

20 Mar 2017

When back in 1811 Bernard Courtois noticed the violet fumes produced when his seaweed extraction tank was being cleaned, he could have never dreamed that he had set the stage for one of the most...

A Curious Landing: A first-hand account of the landing of Mars rover, Curiosity

20 Mar 2017

Dr. Lorne Trottier was in attendance of the recent landing of the Mars Rover,聽Curiosity. Here, he describes his account of the experience as well as the complexities and nuances of what went into...

Nanotechnology

20 Mar 2017

Richard Feynman, Nobel prize winning physicist and science popularizer par excellence liked practical jokes, but I doubt he would have enjoyed watching people in the buff parade on Chicago鈥檚...

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