Schwarcz provides an exploration of the fascinating connection between science and products/claims within in our daily lives. From nutritional benefits of superfoods to the surprising origins of synthetic materials, Schwarcz's skifully demystifies complex scientific concepts in accessible ways. He separates fact from fiction without being dry - just the right amount of science.

Did not finish - just not for me. I thought the short, poppy science essays would be right up my alley, as I am a scientist by training and profession. But as I read the them. I found myself wanting more. More information, more depth, more exploration of the topics, just more. This was not the fault of the book - it delivered on the premise. it just didn't work for me and my brain.

This is an entertaining book about various science topics from the invention of nylon to antibiotic resistance. All of it is put in layman's terms for the most part and are relatively short chapters. The only thing is there really are not chapters the book reads like one long stream of consciousness going from one topic to the next. It's not necessarily a bad thing but it may not be for everyone who is used to a book having an overarching theme or flow. A few of the sections even have this aspect of getting sidetracked like in the nylon chapter it goes from talking about the creation of nylon to the nitrous oxide byproduct being environmentally problematic to synthetic biology being a potential solution back to nylon being a wonder chemical and widely adopted worldwide. Overall still a good book but could use some more polishing from an editor to help with flow. Thanks to netgalley.com for the eARC to review this.

Princess Fuzzypants here: This is an interesting and informative book that covers a wide spectrum of scientific discoveries both real and fictitious. Some of the factual ones might have been a bit heavy in the chemistry- which is not unexpected but might turn off the less scientific readers. The real fun begins when Dr. Schwarcz takes on the pseudo-science that has exploded with the advent of social media. There were always snake oil salesmen, those who offered unsubstantiated cures using a myriad of false information. Things have exploded with conspiracy theories especially those that were rife during COVID. These “cures” have no scientific basis and in fact the magic comes from sleight of hand.

Mainstream advertising is also suspect and many of the claims that sell products are simply codswallop. The revelations are done with humour that makes them entertaining but at the heart of it is the old adage: buyer beware. Do not believe everything you hear.

Four purrs and two paws up.

I really enjoyed this book. Dr Schwarcz has a keen ability to make science digestible for the non-specialist, everyday reader. He sprinkles a bit of socio-economic history in for good measure such as how 'superfoods' as a term came about. It makes for a thoroughly informative and enjoyable read. I learnt not only about superfoods, silkworms and spandex but much more besides. I recommend this book.

What an awesome (and at the same time, very entertaining) collection of short essays about different things! While all somewhat science-y, they are bite-sized, easy to read, and make you feel like you have learned something new today. Me? I had to share my new-found knowledge with everyone in my household for days 😊

Superfoods silkworm and Spandex is a collection of articles by Jow Schwarcz covering an array of topics ranging from why cucumbers are covered in plastic to how fiberglass was invented.
Dr. Schwartz was trained in chemistry and it shows as he weaves chemistry through the various topics he presents. I also appreciate the contempt for quacks, pseudoscience, and science deniers he shows throughout.
Al that being said, this is not a book to necessarily sit down and devour all at once. It was originally written as a series of articles, and it still would work great as a book whose short articles you might use to kill a few minutes here or there. Another use might be using a relevant article as an introductory reading for a chapter in chemistry and other science courses.
Overall, well done and a nice read.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

I gave another book by this author a try and I realized it was a book I did not care for and felt the author was patronizing and pedantic. This book does not appear much different. Others say he makes science relatable but I think there is too much back patting to really feel like it's true.

It's difficult to give a review of this book, which consists of essays on different topics and subjects in science. It's not my cup of tea but each to their own.

I really enjoyed Dr. Schwarcz's book, the first title of his I've read. As a popular science and medical history nerd, the topics are wide-ranging and fascinating, delivered in bite-size format. Sometimes scientific writing requires a lot of mental bandwidth on the reader's part, but these essays are short, not overly complicated or highly jargon-y, appealing to a broader audience. The author's conversational, storytelling style was engaging, and I learned a bit from each snippet (some were more interesting to me than others, e.g. 'Aconite Murder' 'Oh, That Old Book Smell' and 'Silkworm Poo'). Based on other reviews, the author has books similar to Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex, so I will be looking out for those. Only complaints are that the book could really use a table of contents or index, and the editing needs to be tightened. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

In Superfoods, Silkworms, and Spandex, Dr. Joe Schwarcz provides short blurbs about everyday science stuff that are easy to digest and focus more on the story of the science rather jumping straight into the hard concepts. Dr. Schwarcz’s writing is very approachable and each segment is short enough to read in just a few minutes and feel satisfied about learning something. This was the first time I had read any of Dr. Schwarcz’s work; when I saw the title on NetGalley “Science and Pseudoscience in Everyday Life” I had to check it out to see if there is anything that can possibly be worked into any of the “science of everyday life” courses I teach. I think that the simple explanations of techniques and concepts in layman terms is great for any non-scientist to jump into.

This book is designed to make the reader think critically about buzzwords and the science in the news – like “superfoods” and “biobased”. These words make things sound positive and beneficial to health and the environment – but a lot of it is just good marketing. Even as a scientist, I found myself starting to think more skeptically about headlines popping up!

The nature of the book is such that there is no cohesive plot line or large organization. This makes it easy to jump in anywhere and to share select stories to supplement some general learning in a classroom setting. I do think that I personally would have enjoyed it a bit more if it was organized by timeline or by larger topic. As an educator, I wish that the table of contents had a bit more descriptions of each segment or an index at the end so they are easier to reference. I also had a want for references and recommended further readings on the topics; especially for a book that was pushing some healthy skepticism, not citing the sources had me raise an eyebrow. I am not sure if Dr. Schwarcz’s works usually include an index or references in the final version.

All in all I think that this work does show that there is “science, science everywhere” and that “we all practice science on a daily basis” in our critical thinking and reasoning with the world around us.

Strong Points: For the most part, the essays were pretty interesting, and I walked away learning something from them. Like the stingers on bees contain the same chemical that is responsible for giving bananas their signature smell. And bats are the primary pollinators of agave. No bats = no tequila
The author is the director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society and has published several books in this format. It’s clear he’s very knowledgeable, yet he did a nice job of being playful with these essays.

Weak Points: A few essays weren’t as clever as others. While I enjoyed this book, it felt a little coffee table-booky—not one you would need to read cover to cover.

An interesting collection of little science stories. Rather reminded me of a more serious take on "Uncle John's Bathroom Readers". You can read the book from cover to cover, or just pick out the stories that interest you. Not a hard read. Could have used a good proofreader.

A interesting overview of many topics, which the reader can then pursue more in depth on their own. The book could have done with a better edit, some sentences were repetitive.

This is the first book that I have read by Dr. Joe and I loved it! The short chapters of fascinating subjects are perfect for times when you only have a few minutes to read. I always seem to have multiple books in play: car book, porch book, bedside book, etc. This one makes a perfect car book. You can read a chapter in a few minutes while you are waiting for an appointment. Would be the perfect book for a Ride Share driver!!! Full disclosure, I was lucky enough to be given an advanced copy of this book to preview. But, the opinion is all mine.

While it’s to be expected, there are some errors that could benefit from additional proofreading. Dr. Schwarcz covers a wide range of scientific topics. Some topics are admittedly more interesting than others. Each snippet is digestible, informative, and easily captures the attention of the reader. Books surrounding science can often be overwhelming and overly technical at times, however, that’s not an issue for this author. This is a perfect book for those of us who want to continue learning without having to dive in to overwhelming literature.

Josef Schwarcz is a Hungarian-Canadian chemistry teacher whose endeavour it was to make his fairly dry subject a bit more entertaining for his audience.
This 8th offering by Schwarcz is another rather random collection of bite-size chunks of chemistry in our daily lives has achieved just that:
From bee stingers that smell of danger (and bananas) to the accidental spill that gave us vulcanised rubber, from meat juice to manufacturing lead shot, to death by monkshood poisoning, shrink-wrapped cucumbers, Hitler’s penchant for probiotics laced with psycho drugs or “that old book smell”, you can find it all in here.

Ideal for your knowledge-hungry five-minute coffee breaks.

This book is a collection of popular science essays, covering lots of different subjects. Each one is a good introduction to its subject, leaving you to decide if you want to learn more about the subject. It does however need a proofreader, there are sentences repeated back to back in some of the essays.

I loved this book. As with his previous books, the snippets are well written and in a conversational tone, with Dr. Schwarcz showing a good sense of humor. The topics are fascinating and I found that there was a lot of great information that, to me, falls into the area of the history of science, which I love. Dr. Schwarcz also did a great job of not only discussing some scientists' accomplishments, but also calling them out for bad behaviour. I love the snippet format, that makes the book easy to pick up and read whenever some time pops up, although quite frankly I loved the book so much I just read it straight through. Although very sciency, Schwarcz explains everything very clearly and does not use jargon. Overall, this book is well worth reading and provides captivating accounts of science, for people familiar or not with science. Thank you to Netgalley and ECW Press for the advance reader copy.