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Percy Julian: Amazing Chemist, but “Forgotten Genius”?
Back in February, I caught the two-hour NOVA special on the life of Percy Julian. I’ll give it 3.5 stars out of 5. Julian’s story is really interesting, and amazingly, the producers did an exceptional...
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Felicity and the Water Hammer
I was waiting for some HPLC runs to finish and decided to continue to plow through the first season of Felicity. There are quite a few references to chemistry in the series, as Felicity was pre-med....
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Chemistry in Showbiz
I recently came across this screenshot I took of an episode of Deep Space Nine (part of the Star Trek franchise): That molecule is a key component of Ketracel-White, the sole source of nutrition for a...
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Chemistry on TV: Felicity and Deep Space Nine
While cleaning up my hard drive, I came across these images I’d saved of examples of chemistry on television: These three are sequential screenshots from a season one episode of Felicity. The show...
View ArticleDo Starfleet Captains Really Need Orgo?
Pre-meds often wonder whether they really need a year of organic chemistry, but what about prospective Starfleet officers? Will organic chemistry still be important for explorers in the 24th century?...
View ArticleWWWTP? – HF Stupidity on House, M.D.
A concerned labmate brought my attention to a chemical abomination on last week’s episode of the increasingly unpopular television show House, M.D. Thanks to a very special friend of mine, we can all...
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Casting Call for Chemistry Movies!
ChemBark Enterprises is pleased to announce the formation of ChemBark Productions in association with ChemBark Studios! We are moving swiftly and have almost raised sufficient capital to purchase a...
View ArticleMeet the Lab
I would love for C&EN or Chemistry World to produce a hard-hitting, chemistry news show, but I doubt it will ever happen. Making a regular program would be a lot of work, assuming you could even...
View ArticleNocera at Sundance
A short video starring Dan Nocera was runner-up for an award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival: Pretty cool.
View ArticleLab Accident on TV
Some people just can’t handle the excitement of chemistry: Ouch! It seems that this is from a show named “Školski sat”. I think they’re Croatian. A Facebook page for the show is here. I wish there were...
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WWWTP? – Garnier Fructis Shampoo Edition
Sometime last year, my girlfriend DVR’d a copy of this commercial for Garnier Fructis shampoo because she saw it had chemistry in it and because she is awesome: If you pause the video at 0:13, you...
View ArticleRadio Prank: Dihydrogen Monoxide in the Water
I was amused by a news story out of Florida, where a pair of disc jockeys were suspended after going on the radio Monday (April Fools’ Day) and reporting that the local water supply had dihydrogen...
View ArticleAlternative Chem Careers: Parrot Trainer/Researcher
I like listening to the audio of PBS television shows as background noise, because (i) I’m cheap, (ii) it’s free, and (iii) it keeps me in tip-top shape for pub quiz tournaments. I was listening to an...
View ArticleWatching Kary Mullis on TV and In-Person
This week, Just Like Cooking has been hosting the Chemistry at the Movies blog carnival. I’m slipping in my contribution just under the wire… I don’t especially care for the movies, but I’ve been given...
View ArticleJean-Luc Picard Failed Orgo
Yes, you read that title correctly: Jean-Luc Picard, the greatest starship captain of all-time, failed organic chemistry at Starfleet Academy. In his defense, it was probably less to do with...
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Skin Care and Beauty Tips for Chemists
Upon arriving in California, I became extra concerned about my appearance. That’s just what Angelenos do. I make it a point to dress in the latest fashions and to be “camera-ready” at all times. It’s a...
View ArticleNocera on BBC Horizons
Nice… Of course, it’d be even nicer with safety glasses. Also, beautiful new labs. Yum.
View ArticleWWWTP? – Tristillation of Tequila
I talked about this video on Twitter (via @davidperrey) and others have commented on it, but I just wanted to enter it into the WWWTP archive. It is a doozy: Tristillation is complete b.s., but they...
View ArticleThe Funniest Element is Boron
Jerry Seinfeld is not an expert on chemistry, but he is an expert on comedy. That is why we must take him seriously when he says that boron is the funniest element: -(Fast forward to 21:53) - That...
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ChemDraw Rebus #1
I’m not sure if this has ever popped up in someone else’s mind before (or on the internet), but it does every time I hear the song: Do you know what I’m talking about?
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