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- Daylight Saving Time: A Century of Moving the Hands and Getting Nowhere
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- Why Are the Oceans Salty? Because People Have Been Peeing for 10,000 Years, Obviously.
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Tag Archives: chemistry
Why Are the Oceans Salty? Because People Have Been Peeing for 10,000 Years, Obviously.
My wife and I were sitting in a restaurant when the kid at the next table asked a perfectly reasonable question. “Why are the oceans salty?” It’s a good question. It’s the kind of question that has occupied geologists, oceanographers, … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Science
Tagged biology, chemistry, geology, hydration, hydrology, nephrology, ocean, oceanography, pee, salt, science, water cycle
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Beyond Plastic: Rediscovering the Materials That Served Humanity for Millennia
When I recently wrote about our civilization quietly poisoning itself with microplastics, one reader asked a perfectly reasonable question: “If not plastic, then what?” It’s the right question. We’ve become so accustomed to plastic that many people can’t imagine life … Continue reading
Posted in Science, Society, Technology
Tagged cast iron, ceramics, chemistry, cookware, glass, history, microplastics, nanoplastics, plastic, pollution, public health, science, silicone, steel, technology
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The Bittersweet Truth About Chocolate: From Bean to Bunk
Chocolate, the ultimate comfort food. We’ve all been there: devouring a whole bar in one sitting, hiding the evidence from our significant others, then pretending we’re surprised when those extra pounds magically appear. But have you ever stopped to think … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged chemistry, chocolate, chocolate wars, cocoa, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, nutrition, white chocolate
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