If you have an appetite for digestible science, you will find plenty of tasty morsels here. Discover why some people see red over red food dyes, why Sherlock Holmes was interested in jellyfish, why King George III was plagued with purple urine, and why phrenology is a pseudoscience. You will learn about the links between the Pope, Lionel Messi, and yerba mate, Harry Potter and the mandrake root, and how Bicycle Day came to commemorate the first use of LSD. Have you ever wondered whether negative ions have positive effects, if memory supplements work, if performance-enhancing supplements really enhance performance, or if taurine in Red Bull is a lot of bull? Look no further. Are you confused about ultra-processed foods, free radicals, calcium propionate in your daily bread, endocrine disruptors, preservatives, rejuvenation, aspartame, Ozempic, Oxycontin, or whether you can eat to beat disease? You've come to the right place. You will also find out why Woody Allen's "orgasmatron" in Sleeper was a parody of an actual device created by Wilhelm Reich, how time-restricted eating works, why kimchi traveled to outer space, and where not to stick a magnesium rod. Then, of course, you will also discover why you should not burn your toast!

In this new collection of bite-size pop science essays, bestselling author, chemistry professor, and radio broadcaster Dr. Joe Schwarcz shows that you can find science virtually anywhere you look. And the closer you look, the more fascinating it becomes. In this volume, we look through our magnifying glass at maraschino cherries, frizzy hair, duct tape, pickle juice, yellow school buses, aphrodisiacs, dental implants, and bull testes. If those don't tickle your fancy, how about aconite murders, shot towers, book smells, Swarovski crystals, French wines, bees, or head transplants? You can also learn about the scientific escapades of James Bond, California's confusing Proposition 65, the problems with oxygen on Mars, Valentine's Meat Juice, the benefits of pasteurization, the pros and cons of red light therapy, the controversy swirling around perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), why English cucumbers are wrapped in plastic, and how probiotics may have seeded Hitler's downfall. Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex answers all your burning questions about the science of everyday life, like: why "superfood" is a marketing term, not a scientific one; why plastic wrap is sometimes the environmental choice; why supplements to reduce inflammation may just reduce your bank account; how maraschino cherries went from a luxury good to a cheap sundae topper; what's behind "old book smell"; how margarine became a hot item for bootleggers; why duct tape is useful, but not on ducts; and how onstage accidents led to fireproof fabrics.