History

Capturing the Human Wind

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:19:04 +0000

The “Sex Machines Museum” in Prague (who would have ever guessed that there is such a place) has on display an item that appears to be made of a leather funnel attached to an inflatable leather bag. According to accompanying caption it is a “vanvera,” described as a device worn by 17th century aristocratic Venetian women under their voluminous skirts with the intent of catching gaseous emissions. Whether this is a one-of-a-kind joke item or was actually worn by women worried about social etiquette, isn’t clear.

Beating the Heat: The History of the Air Conditioner

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 20:44:26 +0000

While I thought I was lucky enough to escape Europe’s intense June heatwave, I was greeted by equally brutal temperatures upon my return to New York City. With temperatures exceeding 37ºC in the few days leading up to the Fourth of July, I was to be found either at the beach or in the comfort of my air conditioned (AC) home. In New York, and most of the United States, air conditioning is omnipresent. Homes, department and grocery stores, and even public transit are equipped with ACs, providing some relief in the scorching summer sun.

Is There Really Magic in the Magic Eraser?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 14:29:06 +0000

Sure, I thought, when I saw the claims on the box. “Mr. Clean Magic Eraser cleans dirt and grime like you never thought you could.” Well, I have a long-standing scientific interest in materials in the wrong place, which is exactly what dirt is. Mustard on the hot dog is fine, mustard on the tie is dirt. Getting rid of dirt means dissolving it in an appropriate solvent, reacting it with chemicals that will destroy it, or physically removing it by abrasion.

Fertilizers Don’t Make the News Until There is a Shortage

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:47:50 +0000

We have to feed plants so that they can feed us. That conclusion was arrived at by virtually every early agricultural civilization be it in China, Mesopotamia, Europe or the Americas. Their key observation was that crops grow better in fields where animals leave their droppings. Yields can also be increased with the use of human “night soil,” as the ancient Chinese discovered.

Creatine a Supplement With a Rare Commodity: Evidence

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:33:22 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

I have always been a fan of the Olympics, particularly the 100-metre sprint to decide “the world’s fastest human.” Like all Canadians, I was elated when Ben Johnson won the event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, then devastated when we learned that he had cheated by doping with stanozolol, a muscle-building synthetic steroid.

Why the World Cup Ball Matters More than You Think

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000

The origins of soccer can be traced back to 2nd century BC during the Han Dynasty, when the game cuju was played. Cuju, a sport resembling hacky sack, is cited by FIFA as the world’s first “kicking game.” Cuju resembles modern soccer gameplay in its organization. Two teams face off, each with the common goal of getting the ball through a little hole in the opposing team’s net.

Should We Be Reaching for that Greek Cup of Coffee?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 16:15:47 +0000

According to Greek mythology, Icarus tried to soar like a bird with wings he had fabricated out of feathers. Unfortunately, he plunged into the sea after the wax with which he had attached the wings melted when he flew too close to the sun. The Greek Island of Ikaria was named after Icarus and has become a focus for longevity researchers because along with Okinawa in Japan, Sardinia in Italy, the Nicoya peninsula in Costa Rica and Loma Linda in California it boasts unusually high rates of longevity.

You Do Not Have a Lizard Brain

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 19:07:10 +0000

Inside you are three animals: a primitive crocodile, a panicky mouse, and a pragmatic human being.

Resveratrol Supplements. Trifling Facts. Lots of Conjecture.

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:32:12 +0000

A quick online search for “resveratrol supplements” finds dozens produced by various companies. They contain anywhere from 50 to 500 mg resveratrol per capsule and sport labels that scream “source of antioxidants.” But there is no mention of any condition that resveratrol is expected to treat or prevent. For good reason! While there is plenty of speculation about what this compound can do based on laboratory experiments that use cell cultures, yeasts, worms, flies or rodents, it is best to remember that humans are not giant test tubes or colossal rodents.

I Would Have Loved to Be There (and Not Just for the Toilets)

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 20:25:59 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The first sight visitors encountered at London’s Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in 1851 was a 27-foot glass fountain that continuously dispensed Schweppes naturally carbonated spring water sourced from the Malvern Hills in England.

An Ode to Cyanotype Printing

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

I wouldn’t consider myself one to be too artistically inclined. I am unable to draw, I am not crafty, and I certainly cannot make music. It’s not that I don’t enjoy doing crafts; I do. I just was not blessed with this natural talent. That’s why, when I came across cyanotype, I was intrigued.

Should You Worry About a Carcinogen in Your Shampoo?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 18:54:58 +0000

Our story starts with “surfactants,” a term derived from “surface active agents.” These are molecules with one end being “hydrophilic”, meaning it is attracted to water, while the other “hydrophobic” end is attracted to oily substances or to air. If you like your shampoo to form a luxurious lather, disdain stains on your clothes and dishes and don’t want your face cream to separate into layers, then you want surfactants in your life. But surfactants aren’t grown in fields or harvested from trees, not directly anyway. They have to be chemically synthesized. And therein lies the problem.

The Homicidal Triad Seen on Crime Dramas Is Wrong

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:34:00 +0000

If you have a child who still wets the bed after the age of 5, and if you are a fan of crime dramas, you may be asking yourself some seriously dark questions about your kid’s future.

Episodic television crime dramas love to serve up outdated, simplistic but sensationalistic models of human psychology. Criminals with weird manifestations of OCD get easily profiled by preternaturally competent, fast-talking, genius-IQ law enforcement officers, who bring the perp to justice in 42 minutes tops. Real life this is not.

Handling Receipts at the Supermarket

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:18:08 +0000

I was startled by the comment from the shopper just behind me at the checkout counter in the supermarket. “You really shouldn’t be doing that!” Noting the quizzical look on my face, a further clarification was obviously needed. “I mean you shouldn’t be handling the receipt,” she went on. Indeed, I had taken the thermal paper receipt from the cashier and without looking at it tossed it in with the groceries. I now understood my fellow shopper’s concern.

Let’s Rap About Rapamycin

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:54:52 +0000

Easter Island in the Pacific off the coast of Chile is famous for the giant stone statues that were erected by natives some 500-700 years ago. The thinking is that the statues were designed to honour eminent ancestors by providing a home for their spirits to inhabit. In the 1960s, Easter Island made it into headlines for a totally different reason. Soil samples were found to contain Streptomyces hygroscopicus, a bacterium that produces a chemical with antifungal activity.