Topic: History

Explore the science of tattoo inks and the new ban on two specific pigments in the EU.

How do you recover gold that’s been dissolved in acid? How do we know the half-life of uranium? We take on your burning chemistry questions.

In this episode, we see the possibility that lead caused the Roman Empire’s collapse.

We called a few virologists to find out how Antiviral drugs could help us fight COVID-19,

We checked to see if polio vaccine might provide protection against COVID-19.

This video shows why CDC wants people to wear masks to decrease the spread of COVID-19.

We chat with Benjamin Neuman, to find out when to expect a vaccine against COVID-19.

This video explains chemistry behind why soap is effective against viruses like COVID-19.

In this video, find out why shark repellent was developed for decades… but didn’t work.

In this video, find out why shark repellent was developed for decades… but didn’t work.

This Halloween season, we unpack the chemistry of the vampires.

In this episode, we learn how blacksmithing is just as much chemistry as it is an artform.

In this episode, we talk about the chemistry behind the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe.

In this video, find out great lengths used to make gunpowder during the Revolutionary War.

In this episode of Reactions, learn why Moon dust might smell like gunpowder.

We honor women’s history month, with a story of two women chemists that changed the world.

This week, we’ll explore how much helium is left to see if this element will go extinct.

We did the math to see how much tea was dumped in the harbor during the Boston tea party.

We asked writer Sam Kean, are we breathing air molecules that were once exhaled by Caesar?

These black preserved eggs don’t look like food, but in this episode we’ll show how chemistry turns century eggs into a Chinese comfort food.

These black preserved eggs don’t look like food, but in this episode we’ll show how chemistry turns century eggs into a Chinese comfort food.

Reactions is taking science to the skies to see what happens in the chemistry behind chemtrails, or more accurately, airplane contrails.

In this video, we look at gallium, the science behind the holes in the periodic table, and the history of how the elements fell into place.

Theo Gray is 2011 ACS Grady Stack Award winner and in this video, his real DIY masterpiece is the world's first "periodic table table."

Thanks to 30 years’ of color-changing chemistry, the Statue of Liberty is an iconic green symbol of freedom. But what’s her original color?

For the 30th anniversary of National Chemistry Week, scientists can use radiometric dating on rocks, and figure out how old is Mother Earth.

Petria Noble andf Jaap Boon at the Rijks Museum, work to save thousands of paintings from around the world from microscopic destruction.

Sarah Everts explains why conservators are starting to sniff out the compounds emitted by museum art and artifacts.

Chemistry plays a big role in your favorite tunes. Watch this week's Reactions episode, featuring a special appearance from BrainCraft's Vanessa Hill, to find out why.

This week, we take a sobering look at the chemistry behind the modern world’s first chemical weapons.

Bestselling author Sam Kean takes us through the nearly 2,400-year quest to see the atom in a new episode of our "Legends of Chemistry" series.

Blue jeans are among the most popular clothing items in the entire world. But how did Levi Strauss get his “workwear” so blue?

Mary Sherman Morgan, Alice Ball and Rachel Lloyd all had amazing accomplishments in chemistry, but their work was nearly lost to history.

Chemist George de Hevesy’s work transformed medicine. He also foiled the Nazis along the way.

Throughout the history of science, many major discoveries came accidentally.

As Carl Sagan famously said, “We are made of star stuff.” Whoa. It’s a mind-boggling thought, but what exactly did he mean?

Best-selling author Sam Kean stops by Reactions this week to debunk the myth of the Megalodon, the 50-foot super shark.

How Thomas Edison Changed The World

Meet five black chemists who changed the world with their groundbreaking research against tough odds.

The periodic table just got four new elements, but this isn't as groundbreaking as recent headlines would have you believe. Join Speaking of Chemistry's resident killjoy to find out why.