Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex

Book excerpt: In this new collection of bite-size pop science essays, bestselling author, chemistry professor, and radio broadcaster Dr. Joe Schwarcz shows that you can find science virtually anywhere you look. And the closer you look, the more fascinating it becomes. In this volume, we look through our magnifying glass at maraschino cherries, frizzy hair, duct tape, pickle juice, yellow school buses, aphrodisiacs, dental implants, and bull testes. If those don’t tickle your fancy, how about aconite murders, shot towers, book smells, Swarovski crystals, French wines, bees, or head transplants? You can also learn about the scientific escapades of James Bond, California’s confusing proposition 65, the problems with oxygen on Mars, Valentine’s Meat Juice, the benefits of pasteurization, the pros and cons of red light therapy, the controversy swirling around perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), why English cucumbers are wrapped in plastic, and how probiotics may have seeded Hitler’s downfall. Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex answers all your burning questions about the science of everyday life, like: • why “superfood” is a marketing term, not a scientific one; • how probiotics might have contributed to Hitler’s downfall; • why plastic wrap is sometimes the environmental choice; • why supplements to reduce inflammation may just reduce your bank account; • how maraschino cherries went from luxury good to cheap sundae topper; • what’s behind “old book smell”; • how margarine became a hot item for bootleggers; • why duct tape is useful, but not on ducts; • how onstage accidents led to fireproof fabrics.