/oss/taxonomy/term/1287/all en /oss/article/technology-general-science/does-weight-hydrogen-and-oxygen-separated-water-equal-weight-water <p>The conservation of mass is one of the fundamental principles of chemistry. But it does merit a detailed look. The electric battery was invented in 1800 by the Italian Alessandro Volta who demonstrated its abilities in front of Napoleon who awarded him a gold medal for his work. Within weeks, chemists were passing electrical currents through everything to see what would happen. Water was an obvious target for their investigations and it quickly became apparent that it could be broken down into its components, namely hydrogen and oxygen through the passage of an electric current.</p> Thu, 13 Dec 2018 17:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7486 at /oss /oss/article/news-quackery/only-magic-out-there-stage <p style="text-align:justify">Magical Mystery Cures" with Bob McDonald on "Doc Zone," the excellent CBC program looked at the 'anti-aging" industry. We were treated to a spectacular array of quacks outdoing each other with nonsense piled on nonsense. Bob did an excellent job going to anti-aging trade shows, exposing the various types of snake oil they peddle although he should have been more confrontational with the quacks.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">One promoter of Kangen water, dressed in a white lab coat bearing a symbol very similar to the symbol of snakes wrapped around a staff used by the medical profession, had the gall to state that the water cures cancer. His gibberish filled spiel about fractured water clusters was absurd beyond belief. He was matched by the quack who was peddling an "ionic" foot bath, described below, claiming that the rust generated by the hidden electrodes were toxins being removed from the liver, and the clumps of brown guck were pesticide residues being eliminated. Bob did the right thing and showed that the same thing happens without feet being placed in the water, but unfortunately he didn't do it in front of the quack. Would have loved to see the charlatan's face and hear what explanation he would have come up with.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">And then there was the woman who had some crystals attached to a laptop and muttered incomprehensible claptrap about quantum physics and had the nerve (or mental deficiency) to refer to Superman's success with crystals. Bob properly castigated the quacks with their lotions, potions and useless electronic gizmos and concluded that the only real anti-aging regimes were exercise, eating right and selecting one's parents properly. He should have added that the charlatans taking advantage of people who lack the scientific knowledge to see through their absurd schemes should be jailed like the thieves that they are.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">Let's elaborate on the foot bath scheme  mentioned above. The victim of this scheme is told that the special electrically-powered footbath can remove toxins from the body and improve health. And there is proof. As the subject sits with his or her feet in the bath, a rust colored scum forms, supposedly the accumulated toxins being released from the body.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/11/12/the-only-magic-out-there-is-on-a-stage">Read more</a></p> Tue, 12 Nov 2013 19:15:21 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2033 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-news-quackery/alkaline-water-nonsense <p style="text-align:justify">It is not often that I’m left speechless.  But sometimes you run into a situation where words just fail you.  Absurd, ridiculous, ludicrous, preposterous, comical, and farcical come to mind, but they still don’t quite seem to capture the extent of the mind-numbing nonsense.  And what nonsense is that?  “Ionized Alkaline Water!”  People, seduced by the outlandish promotional drivel, are spending thousands of dollars for a device that produces this liquid malarkey.</p> Thu, 20 Mar 2014 12:25:48 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 2116 at /oss