Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex, Dr. Joe Schwarcz
Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex, Dr. Joe Schwarcz
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Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex
Science and Pseudoscience in Everyday Life

Author: Dr. Joe Schwarcz

Narrator: Rich Miller

Unabridged: 8 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/21/2024

Synopsis

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.

About Dr. Joe Schwarcz

Dr. Joe Schwarcz is the director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society, which has the mission of separating sense from nonsense. He hosts a radio show, appears on television, and writes a regular newspaper column. Dr. Joe is also an amateur magician and lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Mary | maryreadstoomuch on June 26, 2024

This collection of essays would really benefit from some sort of sectioning into narratives to tie topics together. It was hard to get into a book with tons of 2-3 page essays that were not connected by the author. As a fellow scientist, I also did not care for the the amount of absolute/definitive......more

Goodreads review by Joshua on June 01, 2024

This is an entertaining book about various science topics from the invention of nylon to antibiotic resistance. All of it is put in layman's terms for the most part and are relatively short chapters. The only thing is there really are not chapters the book reads like one long stream of consciousness......more

Goodreads review by Hasta on June 21, 2024

"Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex: Science and Pseudoscience in Everyday Life" by Dr. Joe Schwarcz is a fascinating collection of bite-sized essays that delve into the world of science and pseudoscience. I listened to the audiobook from Libby, borrowed from Singapore NLB, for several days during m......more

Goodreads review by Steve on February 22, 2024

I loved this book. As with his previous books, the snippets are well written and in a conversational tone, with Dr. Schwarcz showing a good sense of humor. The topics are fascinating and I found that there was a lot of great information that, to me, falls into the area of the history of science, whi......more

Goodreads review by Kathy on March 26, 2024

This is the first book that I have read by Dr. Joe and I loved it! The short chapters of fascinating subjects are perfect for times when you only have a few minutes to read. I always seem to have multiple books in play: car book, porch book, bedside book, etc. This one makes a perfect car book. You......more

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