/oss/taxonomy/term/2173/all en /oss/article/history-did-you-know/journey-broadway-musicals-whole-body-deodorants <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article759769.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>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.</p> Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:59:52 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10332 at /oss /oss/article/history-did-you-know-general-science/its-hermetically-sealed <p>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.</p> Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:43:40 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10326 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/truth-about-oysters-valentines-day-aphrodisiac <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article746035.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>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.</p> Fri, 14 Feb 2025 22:18:26 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 10261 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/ode-chocolate <p>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.</p> Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:45:15 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10254 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/dark-chocolate-reduces-risk-diabetes-dont-count-it <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article727996.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>Valentine’s Day is rolling around and we can expect a flood of articles about chocolate. Some will trot out the tired old trope about phenylethylamine in chocolate stimulating amorous adventures by enhancing the release of dopamine, the “feel good chemical” in the brain. Don’t bank on it! While chocolate does contain phenylethylamine, it is metabolized before it can reach the brain.</p> Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:12:38 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10251 at /oss /oss/article/history-did-you-know-general-science/male-musk-deer-owes-gratitude-chemistry <p>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.</p> Wed, 29 Jan 2025 18:01:17 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10239 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-history-did-you-know/vitamins-are-vital-life <p>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. </p> Thu, 23 Jan 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10233 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/gummi-bears-jell-o-and-king-kongs-poop-have-thing-common <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article673329.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>What do King Kong’s poop, Gummi Bears and Jell-O have in common? They all feature a substance produced by heating an acidified extract of animal bones or skin referred to as “hydrolyzed collagen” but better known as “gelatin.”</p> Fri, 17 Jan 2025 20:17:14 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10232 at /oss /oss/article/technology-did-you-know-general-science/dangers-mirror-life <p>One of the better-known episodes of the original <i>Star Trek </i>series is called “Mirror, Mirror” and it dramatizes a freak transporter accident which sends Kirk, Uhura, Bones, and Scotty to an alternate universe. Their mirror universe colleagues on the <i>Enterprise</i> are greedy, violent, and bent on conquest. And Mirror Universe Spock sports a goatee, so we know he’s evil.</p> Fri, 10 Jan 2025 18:40:42 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10224 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-did-you-know-general-science/lactose-free-milk <p>Ice cream, milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, butter and all other dairy products haunt the dreams of people with lactose intolerance. Over 68% of the world’s population has some degree of lactose malabsorption which is the inability to properly digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products. Until the introduction of lactose-free milk, these unfortunate souls had to take Lactaid pills just to be able to indulge in some of their favourite treats.</p> Fri, 03 Jan 2025 02:08:44 +0000 Angelina Lapalme 10218 at /oss /oss/article/history-did-you-know/bubbling-new-year <p>So, you celebrated the new year with a glass of the bubbly. But was it the right kind of glass? A little background first. Champagne is produced mainly from black grapes in the Champagne region of France. From the moment the Pinot noir grapes are pressed in the vineyard, where almost fanatical care is taken to ensure that not even a trace of black skin ends up in the white juice, to the moment the cork pops, champagne receives more care and attention than any other wine in the world.</p> Tue, 31 Dec 2024 20:54:39 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10216 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/why-do-fruitcakes-last-so-long <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/are-all-snowflakes-really-unique-is-nutmeg-a-hallucinogen-why-do-fruitcakes-seem-immortal-and-other-festive-science-questions/#:~:text=Why%20Do%20Fruitcakes%20Last%20So%20Long%3F">The Skeptical Inquirer.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>It comes down to the high sugar content of fruitcake and the not insignificant amount of booze included in many recipes.</p> Fri, 27 Dec 2024 18:52:33 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 10215 at /oss /oss/article/history-did-you-know/santa-and-his-high-flying-reindeer <p>Let’s talk about flying reindeer. And to start, let’s travel to the snow covered fields of Lapland and Siberia, where the legend of Santa Claus may have originated. Hundreds of years ago the inhabitants of these barren lands tried to domesticate reindeer. But herding these animals was not a simple task, at least not until the herders found a most unusual ally in the form of a little red and white mushroom. Reindeer, it seems, just loved <i>Amanita muscaria</i>, or Fly Agaric, as it is better known.</p> Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:07:20 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10212 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-history-did-you-know/peanut-butters-history-goes-back-incas <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article561786.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>Slap a tariff on peanuts!</p> <p>That was the decision arrived at by the U.S. Congress in 1921 after hearing testimony about how American peanut farmers were being undercut by imported peanuts from China. The witness was George Washington Carver, who also expounded on all the uses to which peanuts could be put.</p> Fri, 20 Dec 2024 21:04:02 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10209 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-environment-did-you-know/good-old-dihydrogen-monoxide <p>You have probably heard about people who have actually signed a petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide. The petition states that this chemical is found in cancerous tissue, accelerates corrosion, can cause suffocation, can result in blistering burns in its gaseous form, contributes to global warming, and for those who have developed a dependency on it, complete withdrawal means almost certain death. Usually, the aim of circulating this petition is to demonstrate scientific illiteracy by drawing attention to people not recognizing that dihydrogen monoxide is just the chemical term for water.</p> Wed, 18 Dec 2024 17:50:36 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10205 at /oss