Drrubidium

DrRubidium is an analytical chemist that spends her days finding needles in needlestacks. Also a science communicator, she focuses on the the science behind everyday stuff and pop culture.
  • Random Asides

    The truth about apple pie spice

    People lost their damn minds when they learned Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) did NOT contain pumpkin.  As it turned out, the key part of the Starbucks PSL is pumpkin spice, which is known as pumpkin pie spice in your market’s baking aisle.  As many already knew, pumpkin pie spice is spices sans pumpkin. What spices? McCormick’s pumpkin pie spice contains cinnamon,…

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  • Science

    Go ahead, drink your Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte!

    People love Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. A lot. This beverage has its own twitter account with nearly 78,000 followers. When Starbucks announced they would start selling this seasonal beverage early, people lost their damn minds. Quite honestly, the love some people have for the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is… troubling… but I’m not one not judge. But you know who is judge-y? Food Babe (a.k.a. Vani Hari) and Jezebel.…

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  • Activism

    Tear gas, CS smoke canisters, and #Ferguson

    Over the past week, we’ve seen tear gas and CS smoke canisters used on people of Ferguson, Missouri.  On social media – and in the general media – there seems to be confusion as to the difference between tear gas and CS smoke canisters.  Is there a difference? The Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) ‘Facts About Riot Control Agents Interim…

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  • Random Asides

    Your new feel good summer jam

    Yeah it’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size two But I can shake it, shake it like I’m supposed to do …. Come on now, make it stop If you got beauty beauty just raise ’em up ‘Cause every inch of you is perfect From the bottom to the top Those are just some of the lyrics from Meghan Trainor‘s…

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  • Science

    Out, damned spot! Out, I say!

    In a much less dramatic fashion than Lady Macbeth, my doctor told me two spots on my face had to go.  I’ve got a lot of spots on my face, but my doctor wanted to biopsy two “irregular” spots – one on cheek and one at my hairline. Yesterday, to collect suspicious spot samples, my doctor used two different biopsy techniques –…

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  • Skepticism

    I got a shout-out from SNL! Sort of…

    Last week, the American Chemical Society‘s Reactions podcast released a video called ‘Zombie Apocalypse Survival Chemistry‘, which featured yours truly talking about two of my favorite topics – chemistry and zombies. Because everybody loves chemistry and zombies, or because The Walking Dead was wrapping up its season, this video got a bit of media attention last week. Even the folks…

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  • Science

    Rule #34: Keep the death cologne handy

    Rule #1 for surviving the zombie apocalypse is cardio, but chemistry offers a less strenuous option. For more Eau de Death details, see my post Chemistry for the zombie apocalypse ___________ featured image from Zombielandrules.com

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  • Anti-Science

    Tampons & Transparency

    In November 2013, the non-profit organization Women’s Voices for Earth (WVE) issued a report titled ‘Chem Fatale‘ with a subtitle that explained the report’s contents – ‘Potential health effects of toxic chemicals in feminine care products’.  By late December 2013, Salon, Jezebel, and the Daily Mail had articles online, each with headlines basically saying tampons were tubes of toxins and all citing Chem Fatale.  A…

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