Squashing Some Mosquito Myths

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 19:04:50 +0000

Guests at the Cypress Cove Nudist Resort in Florida routinely emerge from the swimming pool and walk over to a nearby row of citrosa plants. They proceed to shake the shrubbery and then rub their hands on their thighs. No, this is not some sort of bizarre nudist ritual, it is just preparation for a spell of bite-free frolicking in the sun. The citrosa plants produce two compounds, citronella and citral, which are claimed to have mosquito repellent properties!

Henry Ford - A Stained American Icon

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 16:00:00 +0000

One of the main goals of our Office is to encourage critical thinking and fact checking. It is especially pleasing to see when a student has done exactly that! I received an email from Kaden Bickmore, a grade 11 student at Osgoode Township High School in Ontario, pointing out a mistake in my article on Henry Ford.

Here is his correspondence:

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Squashing Some Mosquito Myths

Henry Ford - A Stained American Icon