Dr. Joe & What You Didn't Know

Book excerpt: The mythbuster and bestselling popular science author of A Grain of Salt tackles questions that show the scientific underpinnings of our culture. Dr. Joe & What You Didn’t Know acts as both the source and satiation of scientific curiosity through a series of 177 chemistry-related questions and answers designed to both inform and entertain. From the esoteric to the everyday, the topics Dr. Joe Schwarcz tackles range from Beethoven’s connection to plumbing to why rotten eggs smell like rotten eggs. How did a sheep, a duck, and a rooster usher in the age of air travel? What does Miss Piggy have to do with the World Cup? And is there really any danger in eating green potatoes? The answers to these whimsical questions and more are revealed in this collection in an accessible scientific fashion. “Only Dr. Joe can turn the world’s most fascinating questions into a compelling journey through the great scientific mysteries of everyday life.” —Paul Lewis, former president and general manager, Discovery Channel “A book with an incredibly high ‘Did you know that. . . ?’ quotient . . . Completely captivating.” —New Brunswick Reader