History

Alchemist’s Urine Wasn’t a Philosopher’s Stone

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:48:00 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The Curious History of Coca-Cola’s “Fanta” Beverage

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:18:32 +0000

Coca Cola, the beverage that sports the most recognized trademark in the world, has a fascinating and sometimes quirky history. It all started with a battlefield wound suffered in 1865 by Confederate officer John Stith Pemberton during the American Civil War. Pemberton had obtained a medical degree at the age of nineteen and had a special interest in chemistry so when he developed chronic pain due to his injury, he knew what to do. Morphine! It solved the pain problem, but Pemberton became addicted to the drug. That triggered a search for a pain killer that was not addictive.

How Many Lives Do Amber Alerts Really Save?

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:17:43 +0000

On Sunday, March 22nd of this year, a large swath of the population in Quebec was woken up at 4:25 as cell phones lit up and screamed. An Amber alert had been broadcast.

The Molecules That Run the World Come From Oil

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Putting Concerns About Weed Killer Glyphosate Into Perspective

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 03:14:05 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

You Are What You Eat

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 17:34:05 +0000

“You are what you eat” is a widely quoted aphorism, expressing the general truth that nutrition and health are intimately linked. It is generally said to derive from the phrase “tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are” found in French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s 1823 book “Physiology Du Gout.” However, Brillat-Savarin was not referring to nutrition, he was commenting on the differences between the foods available to different social classes. The rich could count on a large variety of foods, while the poor subsisted on a meager food supply.

Why Were Nevalyaska Dolls Once Made With Gunpowder?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:35:27 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

I searched eBay for a “nevalyaska.” I just had to have one because of the fascinating story I came across about this little doll’s origin in the Soviet Union.

How Dreams and Frog Hearts Led to the Discovery of Neurotransmitters

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 23:44:10 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The banging on the door at 3 in the morning of March 12, 1938, by Gestapo agents was fierce. They were rousing Otto Loewi out of bed to drag him off to jail. His crime? Loewi was Jewish. It didn’t matter that two years earlier he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for a landmark experiment that was destined to change the course of medicine.

Interesting Chemistry Hides in Cookware

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 13:57:51 +0000

Like most chemists, I like to cook. After all, what is cooking but the appropriate mixing of chemicals? In the lab we use flasks and beakers, but how do we equip our kitchen? Tiffany's in New York offers a silver frying pan for thousands of dollars, specialty stores sell gleaming copper pots for a couple of hundred, while a thin aluminum pot can be had most anywhere for a few dollars. What's the difference?

America's Healthier Past is no More Than a Myth

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 16:22:17 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

“Make America healthy again” sounds like a great slogan. It is loaded with nostalgia and … haziness. What is that “again” all about? When were those halcyon days when Americans were healthier than now?

Fighting With Chocolate

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:50:57 +0000

“An army marches on its stomach,” Napoleon supposedly maintained, alluding to the critical importance of supplying food to soldiers. At the time the main military fare was salted meat and dry bread that may have satisfied soldiers’ hunger but officers, Napoleon thought, had to have better sustenance because they had to use their brain to make decisions. They needed a food that would provide good nourishment and would not spoil on long marches. Chocolate filled the bill!

The Placebo Myth Picked the Wrong War

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 13:43:10 +0000

There’s a medical myth with which a friend of mine and I have become obsessed: this idea that scientific research into the “placebo effect” began in earnest during World War II. As I’ve written before, the classic story is that Dr. Henry Beecher, a Harvard graduate transported to a military base hospital during the darkest days of the 20th century, ran out of morphine while treating soldiers in pain.

Ripples of Discovery Created a New Wave of Weight-loss Medications

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

When it comes to pharmacology, the big story these days is the development of the “glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) mimics,” the first truly effective medications to treat obesity. It’s a fascinating story to be sure, but get set for a bumpy ride. We are not playing Tiddlywinks here.

The Costco Hot Dog….Decisions….Decisions

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 21:36:43 +0000

So, there I was at Costco looking at their special of a quarter pound hot dog and soft drink for $1.50. A good deal financially to be sure. These days I have hot dogs rarely, but I still have fond memories of the toasted hot dogs at the Forum and the steamies at the Montreal Pool Room. To try or not to try the Costco dog, that was the question. I was aware of course about the high salt and fat content, but I also knew that I didn’t have to worry about being struck down by botulism. That’s because the meat is cured with sodium nitrite. And therein lies a story.

Bacteria are Fearsome, Especially When Weaponized

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 17:22:07 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

They used to call it “wool sorter’s disease” or “hide-porter’s disease” because the affliction struck workers who spun wool or carried animal skins. They would sometimes develop circular lesions on their skin with a coal black centre, hence the name of the disease “anthrax” from the Greek word for coal. In rare instances drummers developed anthrax as they beat animal-skin drums.