Strange Chemistry

STEVEN FARMER, Ph.D., has worked as a chemistry instructor at California State University, Sacramento and at University of California, Davis. Currently, he holds the position of Professor of Chemistry at Sonoma State University (SSU). Dr. Farmer is a seasoned teacher with over a decade of experience teaching general chemistry, organic chemistry, and advanced organic synthesis courses. He has earned six teaching awards, including the Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Award, which is given to only one of the over 500 SSU faculty each year. He performs research involving chemical education and is actively involved in giving outreach lectures to the public.

• Preface xiiiAcknowledgments xvii1 If You Do Not Know Any Chemistry, This Chapter Is For You 1Representing Atoms and Molecules in Chemistry 1Neurotransmitters 7Intermolecular Forces 112 The Only True Aphrodisiac and Other Chemical Extremes 15Death Is ItsWithdrawal Symptom! 15What Is the Number One Cause of Liver Failure in the United States? 18The Most Addictive Substance Known 2140 Million Times DeadlierThan Cyanide 24The Most Abused Drug in the United States 27What Is the Only Known Aphrodisiac? 28The Most Consumed Psychoactive Substance 3040,000 Tons of Aspirin 33How Bitter Is the Bitterest? 34$62.5 Trillion per Gram 36What Is the Most Abundant Source of Air Pollution? 39Where DidThat Rash Come From? 41ItWould Take an Elephant on a Pencil 43The Largest Industrial Accident inWorld History 46What Is the Most Important Chemical Reaction? 49Further Reading 533 The Poisons in Everyday Things 63Why Is Antifreeze Lethal? 63Aqua Dots:What a Difference a Carbon Makes! 66How Can Visine Kill You? 68Death by BENGAY  70It Is in 93% of People in the United States 72The Dreaded…Apricot Pits? 75Honey Intoxication 79The DMSO Patient 81Deadly Helium Balloons 82The 2007 Pet Food Recall 83Mercury in Vaccines and Eye Drops? 87TheWorld’s Deadliest Frog 88Leaded Candy 89Why not Drink “Real” Root Beer? 90The Killer Fog 92Nail Polish or Nail Poison? 93Game Board Danger 94What Molecule Killed “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Parents? 96Deadly Popcorn 98EvenWater Can Be Poisonous 99Further Reading 1014 Why Old Books Smell Good and Other Mysteries of Everyday Objects 113The Smell of Old Books and the Hidden Vanilla Extract Underworld 113That Smell Is You! 117Electric Blue 118TheWorld’s Most Abundant Organic Compound 120Chalk Used to Be Alive 122Decaffeinated? Try Deflavored! 123Bad Blood 125The Problem with Dry Cleaning 128The Smell of Dead Fish 131How to Make a Spark 133The “New Car Smell” 133A Gecko Cannot Stick to It! 135Why Are Day Glow Colors and Highlighter Pens So Bright? 137Why Your White Clothes Are not Really White? 139How Can a Spray-on Sunscreen Be Dangerous? 141There Is Ink inThat Paper 141Vomit and Sunless Tanners 143Formaldehyde: Funerals, Flooring, and Outer Space 144Further Reading 1485 Bath Salts and Other Drugs of Abuse 157What Are the Dangers of Bath Salts? 157What to Do If YouWant Your Skin to Turn Blue 163The Flesh-Rotting Street Drug 165How Does a Breathalyzer Detect a Blood Alcohol Level? 167How to Become a Brewery 168HowWas a Painkiller Used to Free Hostages? 171The Secret Ingredient in Coca-Cola  173Why Is Crack Cocaine So Addicting? 174Cocaine Smuggling versus MethamphetamineManufacture 177What Basic Common Ingredient Is Needed toMake the Drugs Vicodin , Percocet , Oxycontin , and Percodan ? 177Drug Money Is Right 181What Percentage of Americans Use Prescription Drugs? 182Are You Ready for Powdered Alcohol? 183Ecstasy Is Ruining the Rain Forests 185How Are Moldy Bread, Migraine Headaches, LSD, and the Salem Witch Trials All Related? 187Further Reading 1936 Why Oil Is Such a Big Part of Our Lives 201What Substance Is Used to Make 80% of All Pharmaceuticals? 201Why Do ScientistsThink Oil Comes From Fossilized Plants and Animals? 205How Is Oil Made? 207Where Is Most of the Carbon in theWorld? 209The MostWidely Recycled Material in the United States 209What Material Is Used to Make Asphalt? 210How Oil Helped to Save theWhales 211Further Reading 2137 WhyJuniorMints Are Shiny and Other Weird Facts about Your Food 217Why Is Gum Chewy? 217The Problem with Gummi Bears 220What Is the EasiestWay to Peel a Tomato? 223AnotherWay to Eat Insect Parts! 224Why Is High Fructose Corn Syrup More Consumed thanSugar? 226What Causes Rancid Butter to Stink? 229Why Does Mint Make Your Mouth Feel “Cold?” 232It Is Probably Not Really Fresh Squeezed 234Why Are Viruses Added to Some Sandwich Meat? 236What Is Margarine Made From? 239Why Are Junior Mints Shiny? 241Further Reading 2448 The Radioactive Banana and Other Examples of Natural Radioactivity 251Where Does the Helium We Use in Balloons Come From? 253Who Was the First Person to Win Two Nobel Prizes? 255Where Is the Radioactive Material in YOUR House? 257Which Elements Were First Detected in Radioactive Fallout from a Nuclear Bomb? 258Radioactivity in Wrist watches, Exit Signs, and H-Bombs 260The Earth Is One Giant Nuclear Reactor 262Are Nuclear Reactors “Natural”? 263Are Your Gemstones Radioactive? 265Radon: The Radioactive Gas in Your Home 267The Radioactive Banana 269Further Reading 2719 Chemistry Is Explosive! 277How Do BulletsWork? 277What Is the Most Commonly Used Explosive in NorthAmerica? 280What Non-nuclear Substance Is the Most Explosive? 282What Poison Is Used as an Explosive in Airbags? 283Explosive Heart Medicine 285Further Reading 28710 The Chemistry in Breaking Bad and Other Popular Culture 291How Does Methamphetamine Act as a Stimulant? 291What Is “Pseudo,” and How Is It Related toMethamphetamine? 294What Is Ricin? 297The Thalidomide Disaster 298What Is Phosphine Gas, and Why Is It a PotentialMurder Weapon? 300Acetylcholine, Pesticides, and Nerve Gas 301Further Reading 31011 Why You Should Not Use Illegally Made Drugs: The Organic Chemistry Reason 315Why You Shouldn’t Use Illegally Made Drugs 315The Tragic Case of the Frozen Addicts 320Further Reading 326Index 327

“Behind every chemist is a teacher who, by their enthusiasm, has made the subject interesting to his or her pupils. Dr. Farmer is such a teacher who has gone to great pains to make his subject relevant to his audience … The author has composed over a hundred articles on various topics across the whole spectrum of chemistry ranging from the initial chapter on the nature of the chemical bond to the composition of road asphalt … [this book] should be possessed by every chemistry teacher and I cannot recommend it too highly.” Chromatographia, December 2017  “A chemistry professor teaches “the stories your chemistry teachers wouldn’t tell you” through short, accessible lessons on drugs, deadly household items, mysteries of ordinary objects, and more … Each lesson is no more than a few pages long and successfully shows how relevant chemistry is in everyday life …The short sections and accessible language will keep readers’ attention, and the frequent addition of molecular structures could be a useful addition to chemistry courses. An engaging chemistry lesson that also serves as an encyclopedia to understanding the world around us.” Kirkus, January 2018"The book is definitely recommended for chemists at all levels and to their students." Dansk Kemi, October 2018