100 chemical myths: misconceptions, misunderstandings, explanations

Misconceptions in general. Fear of the unknown : chemicals ; Life as a risky business ; Natural products : a delusion of safety ; Man-made commodities and safety issues ; The Cholera pandemonium : the blind leading the blind ; Regulating chemicals : maybe or maybe not ; Biowaste : biotechnology in perspective ; Ice skating and the science of sliding ; So what's happening to the ozone hole? ; Predicting the elements : success and failure ; Vedic wisdom : lead and Ayurveda ; Manipulating weather : ocean fertilization Food. Test your cranberry pie : vitamin C and benzoates ; Food dyes : the good, the bad and the ugly : Azo dyes, Triphenylmethane dyes ; The organic vegetable hype : A question for eternity : natural or artificial fertilizers?, Nitrates in vegetables, Are organic vegetables more nutritious than others? ; "You're the one for me, fatty" : concocted fats ; Fat matters : margarine vs. butter ; Fake food and kidney stones ; The coming shortage : vanilla and menthol ; Red alert : meat colors ; Moldy business : whole-grain cereals ; Red wine and the vineyard blues ; Popeye's spinach and the search for iron ; The perplexing spice : curry ; Bigger the better? The alpha and omega of fatty acids ; Sweet as birch : xylitol ; Bittersweet effects : grapefruit seeds ; Sweet dreams without sugar : artificial sweeteners : The saccharin case in a nutshell, Aspartame and methanol ; An ointment for your throat : the secrets of olive oil ; To add or not to add? Food additives : Baking powder, Salicylic acid, The Chinese restaurant syndrome and monosodium glutamate ; There's salt, and then there's salt ; Sugar for your tea? White or brown? ; The thickening stuff : guar gum gumbo ; Is caffeine free of risk? ; The biofuel dilemma ; Perfect timing : egg cooking ; Food fraud : then and now Medicines. Are generic medicines the same as the original? ; The vitamin that never was : B₁₇ ; Joint efforts : glucosamine and chondroitin ; A man's drug of choice : testosterone ; Doped up and ready to win. Maybe ; Can placebos heal? ; Synthetic drugs vs. natural herbs ; Bitter, stronger : herbal tea sweeteners ; Homeopathy : no active ingredient? No side effect? ; Aromatherapy : nice but useless? ; Innocent or guilty? chamomile ; Depressed : antidepressant side effects ; Pre-emptive action : vitamin C ; Vitamin megadosing : the real truth ; Detox hoax : poison removal from your body ; Cloudy dreams in green : absinthe ; Is green tea caffeine-free? ; Red rice remedy : cholesterol relief? ; What exactly does aloë cure? ; Island pleasure for businessmen : noni ; Castor oil : a painful story ; The oldest sugar-free candy : licorice ; Cannon balls for your health : antibiotics ; Hearty soybeans : phytoestrogens ; Willow fever : aspirin ; Pill secrets : the efficiency of drugs ; In quest of active ingredients : herbs ; Getting rid of acids : alkaline cures ; "...upon the face of the waters" : mineral and tap water ; The illusive qualities of plant preparations ; The antioxidant story ; Stomach ache : baking soda ; Does hot pepper cause ulcer? ; Cocaine : drug, narcotic, or what?

Catastrophes, poisons, chemicals. Is the use of cyanogen bromide forbidden in hospitals? ; Poison in groundwater : arsenic ; Don't touch the spilled mercury! ; Was DDT of more harm than use? ; Could dioxin be the most toxic substance? ; Was Napoleon murdered with arsenic? ; The resin wars : formaldehyde ; The Great Hungarian red mud deluge ; Death in a single grain ; A closer look at acids ; O, the fresh smell of ozone ; The diamond thermometer ; Everlasting love : diamonds ; Is pH 5.5 neutral? ; Sorrel soup scare : oxalic acid ; The mysteries of magnetism ; Water : the extravagant liquid ; Fire in space ; Is natural gas toxic? ; Respiratory affairs : carbon dioxide ; The true death toll of Chernobyl ; Were there nuclear explosions in Chernobyl or Fukushima? ; What was the Gulf War Syndrome? : Nerve agent antidote Pyridostigmine Bromide (PB), Organophosphate type pesticides and insect repellents, Nerve agent Sarin, Depleted uranium shells ; The strange case of Bisphenol A ; Death in the Danube : cyanide spills ; Sparkling cyanide : the ultimate poison ; Poly... what? Plastics vs. natural materials ; The difference between a rose and a cornflower ; The Erin Brockovich mystery : chromium salts

Glossary of terms.