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The Magic of Fireworks

4 Jul 2018

All fireworks rely on a combustion process that has three basic requirements: some sort of fuel to burn, a supply of oxygen, and a source of energy to initiate the reaction between the fuel and the...

Before the Breathalyzer There Was the Drunkometer

4 Jul 2018

The idea of a mechanism to measure the alcohol a person has consumed dates back quite far.

The Most Important Industrial Chemical in the World…and a Lesson Learned

3 Jul 2018

The thick liquid used to be called "oil of vitriol," since it was originally made by the distillation of "green vitriol," or iron sulfate as we know it today.  It was so corrosive and nasty that...

Measles: the plague that ruined Rome

27 Jun 2018

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but from 165-180 CE, up to 2,000 of its citizens were killed per day....

The Enigmatic Dr. Kellogg

13 Jun 2018

It must have been quite a scene.  The little man, no more than five foot four, dressed completely in white, center stage, playing pitch and catch with a chimp.  But there was no ball in sight.  Dr....

Silver Tarnish and Tarnished Claims

23 May 2018

Silver is more than just an object of beauty. It’s the stuff of memories. Prior to digital photography, all picture taking relied on compounds of silver. The reduction of silver ions to metallic...

The Origins of Soda Water

15 May 2018

In 1874, thirty five men solemnly gathered at a grave sight in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. They had come to lay the foundations for the American Chemical Society, which would eventually become...

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