Having been an avid cook for several years, I’ve lived through the pleasant experience of rivers of tears involuntarily gushing out of my eye sockets on the occasions I peel and cut my own onions or shallots many times. But what’s the phenomenon that so brings us to tears? It seems that it’s just our body reacting to some fun chemistry. Here’s a more detailed explanation.Onions are of the genus Allium
, which also encompasses plants such as garlic and chives. On cutting these vegetables open, two substances are liberated: sulfoxides, which are volatile organic molecules responsible for the flavors of the onion; and the allinases, which are enzymes, as the suffix suggests.
These enzymes, like the tricky rascals they are, transform the sulfoxydes into a third scoundrel on contact with air -highly unstable sulfenic acid. In turn, this summarily converts to a fourth substance called (take a deep breath) propanethial-S-oxyde. This is actually a delightful mélange of sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfuric acid, and it propagates through the air around your dutiful culinary head and evokes the familiar tear reflex. This reaction is simply an involuntary defense mechanism which attempts to dilute and flush out the malevolant cocktail now aggregating on your eyeball.
There are a few techniques you can employ to minimise this odious occurence. Chopping an onion underwater deprives it of the oxygen needed to complete its devious eye-hating conversions; chilling or cooking the onion makes the process more agreeable as well. You can also turn on a fan to physically blow away the contemptible fumes. Or, if you’re intense enough, you could perhaps keep a pair of anti-onion fume goggles in the kitchen to form an air-tight and virtually impermeable optical sanctuary.
al in the world is the sloth!
ng to historical discoveries, coffee first appeared in Ethiopia (more precisely, in the province of Kaffa) in the east of Africa. It seems that the locals of this region have been getting jittery with it since about the 8th century. These Ethiopians then summarily introduced the delightful caffeinated concoction to Yemen, but it wasn’t imported to the Orient until the 15th century. The city of Moka in Yemen, situated on the ideal trading spot alongside the Red Sea, transformed into the first important coffee port by the mid 15th century.
“Oh please, rain is simply water, which has absolutely no odor to speak of”, you say. Indeed you’re right! But it’s not the rain that smells rainy, but rather the soil; more precisely, that beloved characteristic smell is attributed to an organic compound named geosmin, produced by the bacteria Streptomyces coelicolor (how I adore biology and its poetic monikers!).
Ear piercing: The story goes that sailors would don a golden earing so that they might sell it to finance their rescue in the event of a shipwreck. It’s also said that holes in the ear stimulate an acupunctural point thought to ameliorate vision, but this hasn’t been verified.
on to see pink versions of devices marketed specifically towards women, with all of the other models presumably reserved for the men. In particular, I’m thinking of the pink Smartphones and GPSs. If you’re anything like me, then you can get a bit tired of seeing the pink candy catalogs that are only for girls.. But thankfully, men also have the right to pink. The prevalent female attraction to pink has not only been proved, but it also seemingly has an explanation. Two researchers at the University of Newcastle gave a simple test to 208 English and Chinese volunteers. The test subjects were presented with two cards of differing colors and asked to choose between them. The results of this test revelead a global female preference for the color pink (more precisely, for variants of the warm colors red and pink).
It’s always amusing to note how certain things are bursting with information even if you’re completely incognizant of it. That’s the case with equestrian statues. Yes, these statues do much more than display guano stains of various thickness depending on their location; they actually inform you of the cause of death of the mounted figure depicted on the horse.