Chemistry For Your Life

#016 This week Melissa and Jam explore the chemistry of onion tears, the emotional reaction we all have, against our will, when cutting onions. Grab some tissues, this one's gonna burn. References from this episode https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf60174a009 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acschembio.7b00336 https://www.nature.com/articles/419685a https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/science/onions-crying-chemicals.html http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/pso/psov.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170620122950.htm https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/ignobels-2013-the-tearless-onion/ Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife. Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/ Thanks to our monthly supporters Ciara Linville J0HNTR0Y Jeannette Napoleon Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Sarah Moar Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Nelly Silva Venus Rebholz Lyn Stubblefield Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Emerson Woodhall Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Bri McAllister Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

#015 This week Melissa and Jam explore a Halloween-themed topic, perfectly-timed for the fact that our episode air date happened to land on Halloween exactly! Can you change the color of fire using only chemistry, safety, personal protection equipment, and no magic? Listen to find out. And check us out on any of our social media accounts to see the experiment take place! References from this episode Melissa's Previous Knowledge ACS.org ThoughtCo.com Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife. Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/ Thanks to our monthly supporters Ciara Linville J0HNTR0Y Jeannette Napoleon Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Sarah Moar Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Nelly Silva Venus Rebholz Lyn Stubblefield Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Emerson Woodhall Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Bri McAllister Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

This week Melissa and Jam explore the chemistry of artificial/alternative sweeteners. What are artificial sweeteners? How can something be sweet but not packed with calories? Are we cheating? Did we hack nature when we made them? Is nature going to get back at us some day? Are we doomed? References from this episode Organic Chemistry Textbook, Edition 11 - T.W. Graham Solomons Melissa's prior knowledge 🤔 Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife. Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/ Thanks to our monthly supporters Ciara Linville J0HNTR0Y Jeannette Napoleon Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Sarah Moar Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Nelly Silva Venus Rebholz Lyn Stubblefield Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Emerson Woodhall Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Bri McAllister Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

This week Melissa and Jam explore the chemistry of not being burned by the big, ominous, flaming ball of radioactive insanity that lights up our skies each day. Did you know that to some people, radiation burns are no big deal? ¯_(ツ)_/¯ It's actually a very big deal and the sun is constantly trying to kill us all. Save yourselves. References from this episode Organic Chemistry Textbook, Edition 11 - T.W. Graham Solomons Chemistry, Edition 2, Openstax - Paul Flowers, Klaus Theopold, Richard Langley, and William R. Robinson Wikipedia references for SPF American Academy of Dermatology FAQs Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife. Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/ Thanks to our monthly supporters Ciara Linville J0HNTR0Y Jeannette Napoleon Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Sarah Moar Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Nelly Silva Venus Rebholz Lyn Stubblefield Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Emerson Woodhall Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Bri McAllister Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

This week Melissa and Jam continue in the category of "sticky" things by exploring how geckos stick to walls. How do they do it? Is it magic? Is it like spider-man? Is it intermolecular forces? References from this episode Organic Chemistry Textbook, Edition 11 - T.W. Graham Solomons Chemistry, Edition 2 - Paul Flowers, Clause Theopold, Richard Langley, and William R. Robinson Ologies Podcast - Episode 99 Saurology with Earyn McGee - Alie Ward Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife. Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/ Thanks to our monthly supporters Ciara Linville J0HNTR0Y Jeannette Napoleon Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Sarah Moar Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Nelly Silva Venus Rebholz Lyn Stubblefield Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Emerson Woodhall Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Bri McAllister Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, Melissa and Jam explore the complex, but highly familiar and relatable concept of stickiness. It started as a lighthearted question from the end of "Why didn't Jam's pot ever boil?" and turned into its own episode. How do some things stick together so well? Why do only some substances have that sticky feeling we all know and love? Grab some clorox wipes and jump into this sticky topic. Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife. Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/ Thanks to our monthly supporters Ciara Linville J0HNTR0Y Jeannette Napoleon Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Sarah Moar Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Nelly Silva Venus Rebholz Lyn Stubblefield Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Emerson Woodhall Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Bri McAllister Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Question and Response #02 We've received even more questions! Melissa and Jam take more listener questions regarding topics from across the first 9 episodes, attempting to clarify some things and dive a little bit deeper. We talk about "magic shell," moving bonds, high altitudes, "types" of waves, the potential effect of microwaves on nutrition, and we even have a slight correction this time! References from this episode New York Times article on microwaves and food nutrients Fear of Food by Harvey Levenstein Article about Magic Shell by Chowhound Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife. Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/ Thanks to our monthly supporters Ciara Linville J0HNTR0Y Jeannette Napoleon Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Sarah Moar Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Nelly Silva Venus Rebholz Lyn Stubblefield Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Emerson Woodhall Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Bri McAllister Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Baking powder? Baking soda? I mean they're both white powders with the word "baking" in it. How different could they be? Well, one can cause miniature kitchen volcanos and the other does what? Listen this week as Melissa and Jam talk about acids, bases, baking soda, baking powder, and how they can make all the difference in your busy life as a single parent of three. Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife. Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/ Thanks to our monthly supporters Ciara Linville J0HNTR0Y Jeannette Napoleon Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Sarah Moar Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Nelly Silva Venus Rebholz Lyn Stubblefield Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Emerson Woodhall Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Bri McAllister Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Remember that one time (in episode 6 "Why do we put lids on pots to boil water") when Jam had a situation where his big pot of water would never boil? And he (quite ironically) took a lot of heat for it? Well on this episode Melissa sets out to solve this mystery and hopefully redeem Jam's tarnished reputation with his family and the American people. Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife. Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/ Thanks to our monthly supporters Ciara Linville J0HNTR0Y Jeannette Napoleon Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Sarah Moar Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Nelly Silva Venus Rebholz Lyn Stubblefield Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Emerson Woodhall Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Bri McAllister Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Melissa finally explains to Jam how microwaves work after making him wait for an entire week. What the heck is going on inside microwaves? How does it do it's thing and make our food tasty? Is it magic? Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife. Email us at chemforyourlife@gmail.com And check out our chill, simple little website at https://chemforyourlife.transistor.fm/ Thanks to our monthly supporters Ciara Linville J0HNTR0Y Jeannette Napoleon Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Sarah Moar Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Nelly Silva Venus Rebholz Lyn Stubblefield Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Emerson Woodhall Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Bri McAllister Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★