Radar, Hula Hoops, and Playful Pigs: 67 Digestible Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life

by Joe Schwarcz

Have you ever wondered about the science behind Alice's strange adventures in Wonderland, Casanova's experiments with "Spanish Fly," and zombies in Haiti? In Radar, Hula Hoops, and Playful Pigs , chemist and columnist Dr. Joe Schwarcz offers 67 entertaining essays exploring these and other delightful nooks and crannies of chemistry.

Investigate the nefarious chemistry of the KGB, the colors of urine, and the mysteries of baldness. Learn how shampoos really work, and discover which cleaning agents must never be combined. Get rid of that skunk smell in a jiffy, and get a whiff of what's behind the act of passing gas. Read about the ups and downs of underwear, the invention of gunpowder, Van Gogh's brain, John Dillinger's chemical exploits, and Dinshah Ghadiali's bizarre attempts to cure disease with colored lights. Finally, discover the amazing links between radar, hula hoops, and playful pigs!

Written by popular media personality Dr. Joe Schwarcz, this 1999 Canadian best-seller is proof positive that a little intellectual dip into the vast ocean of chemistry can not only be useful but pleasurable as well.

Genres: Science, Chemistry, Nonfiction, History, Adult, Read For School, Food

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Dr. Joe Schwarcz holds a PhD in chemistry and is host of the radio program The Dr. Joe Show, directo of McGill University's Office for Science & Society and the author of fourteen bestselling books. Well known for his informative and entertaining lectures, Dr. Schwarcz has received numerous awards for teaching and deciphering science for the public.

Reviews

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, but I liked "Genie in the Bottle" better. The latter had more stories about things you could relate to better. Radar was very good though, don't get me wrong. It's a great going to bed book because each section is so short. And they are very interesting so you stay awake - for a science/history book it won't put you to sleep. All the facts about food are very insightful and Dr.Schwarcz's prose is very lively. Bottom line: Read it.

[Craig MacKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Schwarcz is well-known throughout Canada and especially in Montreal as the director of McGill University's Office of Science and Society, radio talk-show host and contributor to op-ed pieces in the Gazette. He is a consummate chemistry lecturer - his courses and public lectures are filled with anecdotes, demonstrations, and humour (and magic tricks!). He has translated his infectious interest in chemistry to the written word, and the result is a fascinating book that you will enjoy reading, and likely refer to again and again when someone asks, "I wonder why....?" As the title promises, the book is a series of short anecdotes about a variety of chemical subjects. For example, the titular "radar, hula hoops, and playful pigs" gives the connection between these three items (airborne radar, hula hoops, and pig playtoys are all made from the same polymer). The majority of the essays revolve around health, probably reflecting both the author's training (as a carbohydrate chemist) and society's bias.

Schwarcz has two underlying, scientific themes. Science in general, and chemistry in particular, is neither good nor evil - it's the context/use of chemistry that gives a moral distinction. Likewise, chemical effects are generally driven by amount - arsenic is not poisonous in low enough concentrations, while water can be deadly (if inhaled, for example). The second point is to make the reader a skeptical consumer. He gives numerous examples of good science vs. bad science - a product trotting out "testimonials" is not evidence that it will work in all cases (or even in the majority of cases!). That's not to say the book gets bogged down in details. His writing style is sharp, witty, and concise. The book can be picked up and read from any point, and you'll still learn something interesting.

I am a chemist, and can assure the chemists considering this book that the science is accurate. It's not the standard sugar-coated fare that appears on television. Likewise, a non-scientist will be able to easily understand the material because Schwarcz never resorts to lingo without first explaining it (for "proof" I point to my mother, who was an English major in university and who enjoyed the parts of the book she's read). Therefore, this book can be recommended to the widest audience, and all will find it informative and enjoyable.

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this book an 4 out of 5. I found some of stories extremely interesting and others very hard to get through. I will say that I liked that you did not have to read every single story to understand the book as they really do not connect to each other. I, personally, skipped around and read the ones that seemed most interesting to me. A big reason this book is not a 5 out of 5 was because some of the short stories seemed to drag on. The author included a somewhat dense history to quite a few of the stories forcing me to either skip over the boring parts and find a new section or to power through it and end up being pretty disinterested. I will say that the author did a great job about making chemistry- a subject most would think of as pretty tedious and boring - pretty interesting and connecting it to things that I would not have even thought of to have a chemistry background. This book has left me with a plethora of knowledge, some useful, some not. I learned a lot of new information from this book, though! I would recommend this book to someone who has somewhat of a background knowledge on chemistry as it would be helpful but also think that someone without prior knowledge on chemistry would enjoy this book as well.

[Hadley Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I really liked learning about random things from a scientific point of view, and I read about things that I had never given a second thought to until now. While some stories I felt became slightly repetitive in the food section, the rest of the little chapters were interesting to learn about. It was fascinating to me to also read about the different ideas that have been debunked as time has gone on; not just that, but also how so and how long it took. One specific piece of information that stood out to me is that many times, if a sentence or a label of a product sounds fancy enough in scientific terms, people will buy it without a second thought. Altogether, this book was an enticing way to learn about chemistry as it related to my own life and was on a larger scale, and it went into the mentalities of the different scientific beliefs across history and across the world.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of explanations/talks about chemistry (and other stuff) and applications to life in general. A little dated now, an update would be great. Also, not many dates and no footnotes or endnotes which would have been helpful.

[Isac Monteiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. You don't need to have any chemical knowledge. It's for all kind of people. The book shows really facinating comments about chemistry, does worth to read!

[Federico · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for fueling kids interest’ in science sure but some of the facts or claim aren’t as fond as I thought they were when I was younger.

[Sarahb · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book, I would give it a rating of 4.5 out of a possible 5 stars. I gave it this rating due to the fact that my overall feeling while and after reading this book was pretty positive. The book looked at the chemistry of everyday items and went into explanation about how they worked. Also, the book picked topics that were interesting and would keep the reader interested during every short story, along with having a story for everyone. (Such as; Science behind Alice in Wonderland, Zombies in Haiti, explanation behind passing gas, etc.) But what I really appreciated about this book is that it did not chose to drone on and on about just the chemistry knowledge about every item, chemical, or material that Dr. Joe Schwarcz chose to evaluate, instead he told stories to make the book more interesting. One example of this that I enjoyed particularly was when the book talked about John Dillinger, a well known criminal, they told of a rumor of how he had escaped from prison while incorporating in how it was chemically possible using iodine and a potato. This could have been a textbook or another dry informational piece of writing however, by adding in stories and things the reader can easily connect to really helps it become a fun and easy read. I only gave it 4.5 though because I felt in some cases the same materials became repeated in spots, such as polyethylene and “Celluloid” were examined more than once throughout the book. Although these are very important materials it was kind of monotonous to try and read. At times during this novel I also felt that it was kind of a long book to read due to it being 281 pages, and it requiring you to think while you read. Overall I really enjoyed this book more than I expected to, it was an enjoyable read and a new way to look at chemistry in things I had never really paid attention to in my everyday life.
(On a side note he reminds me a little of Mr. Stacey one of our guest speakers this year. They both talk about the fact that a scientist is someone who sees something strange and is then intrigued to try and understand it instead of just moving on. )

[Blablabla Aleatório]

Desde que eu era pequena, a química me fascina. Eu acreditava que misturar xampus e condicionadores no banheiro era algo mágico e passei muitas tardes com meu irmão aprontando dessas travessuras. Um dos meus maiores traumas é não ter tido um kit alquimia quando era criança. Todo esse amor me fez escolher Química como curso na faculdade e os livros que descrevem a química no dia-a-dia são os meus favoritos, ganhando de todos os romances históricos que podem aparecer por aí. Assim, não é de surpreender que eu comprei 3 livros de química em 15 minutos quando estava na Bienal de São Paulo. Dentre eles estava Barbies, Bambolês e Bolas de Bilhar.

O subtítulo do livro diz que ele contém “67 deliciosos comentários sobre a fascinante química do dia-a-dia”. Estes comentários estão dividos em 7 capítulos, que abrangem desde crimes cometidos usando a química até a sua importância na culinária. Inclusive, este livro contém várias informações sobre aqueles alimentos considerados mágicos para o ser humano. Aquela história de “uma maçã por dia mantém o médico longe”, na verdade, seriam necessárias 3. Também devemos tomar 3 xícaras de chá (verde, que tem mais catequinas) por dia.

Leia mais em: http://feanari.wordpress.com/2012/09/...

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has been on my to-read list since I started keeping the current poorly-maintained version in 1999; it's designed to popularize chemistry and science for the masses, and the author, Dr. Joe Schwarcz, has apparently gone on to do about new book a year since then.

I found it strange, though, that the book's introduction includes a page or two slagging the portrayal of scientists in kids' shows Bill Nye "Science Guy" and "Beakman's World." Dr. Schwarcz felt that science was interesting enough on its own to not need... additional excitement.

The content itself is easily digestible. Each section is only a few pages, so it's a quick read. The information is geekily interesting, though the level of humor tops out at the level of bad uncle puns.

Some of the nutritional science has evolved in the intervening years (e.g. the role of antioxidants in health). All things considered, while the book has aged fairly well, I'd probably try a more recent edition.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good and easy read. Schwartz clearly knows his science. The overall point he makes about science being a process of uncovering new incremental discoveries is a great idea which cannot be emphasized enough. What left me wanting more, though, was that he rarely described the evidence science has to back up its claims. In an effort to reach the general public, he leaves out the details that makes science what it is: a continual quest for knowledge of how the universe works. I wanted less scientific facts and more description of how we know what we know.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review

"Joe Schwarcz has mastered the art of science education as an attention-holding and rewarding experience. In this book he provides a great read, a book you will not want to put down. You will learn a great deal about the world around us while being compelled to read on—it’s an educator’s dream!"

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was really fascinating, but I found the second half dragged on for me. It may be because I was tired of the genre and chemistry though, not because the 2nd half was any different than the 1st half. Lots of everyday life chemistry that's good to know. "Chemical" is not a bad word. Everything in the universe is made of chemicals, even humans.

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved my chemistry class in high school because the teacher loved his job teaching it. He made it fun. And this book is just as fun and interesting as my high school chemistry class was. Everything around us involves chemistry on some level. This book shows us some of those fascinating details. A really great book, in my opinion!

[colleen]

interesting commentary on relationships between chemistry and every day living! So far I like it!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Professor Joe Schwarcz. I really loved it.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just kind of fun...pick it up anytime sort-of-thing.

[Luis Brudna · Rating 4 out of 5]

O Joe insiste um pouco em desmascarar mitos e lendas, deixando a química em segundo plano em alguns ensaios. Mas nada que prejudique a leitura.
OBS: Li a versão em português.