/oss/taxonomy/term/1325/all en /oss/article/did-you-know/beavers-have-metal-teeth <p><span>I once broke my tooth on some toffee my mom made. Every time I see a beaver, I think of that day and wonder how they can gnaw on trees all day without chipping an incisor when I couldn’t even conquer candy. </span></p> <p><span>Since beavers are </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodent">rodents</a> it’s not too surprising that their teeth constantly grow. This allows them to chew away on their sticks while keeping their teeth, but my guinea pigs are also rodents and I wouldn’t put them up against a log.</p> Tue, 12 Jun 2018 15:49:39 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7130 at /oss /oss/article/food-health-history-toxicity/castor-bean-oil-plays-growing-role-chocolate-manufacture <p>I think the first medicine I ever heard of was “Ricinus,” a liquidy concoction with which my mother plied me when she suspected I was constipated. I can’t imagine why as a child I would have had such a problem, since our diet in Hungary back then included generous doses of goose fat that should have allowed everything to slide through at a pretty regular pace.</p> Thu, 12 Dec 2013 18:25:19 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2044 at /oss