/oss/taxonomy/term/7476/all en /oss/article/history-general-science/acetone-horse-chestnuts-and-weizmann-institute <p>There were no video games. There was no Internet. TV had not yet been invented. So in the early 1900s, British children played “conkers.” This is perhaps best described as an early form of “Survivor.” The winner was the player whose conker survived the longest in battles with other conkers. So what was a conker? A horse chestnuts tied to a string which could be swung around and smashed into an opponent’s chestnut. Competitions were fierce and winning nuts highly prized. Apparently, though, some resourceful players didn’t play cricket. They cheated. Chemically!</p> Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:14:31 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9904 at /oss