Critical Thinking

Supermodel Heidi Klum Floats In Air and Blows Hot Air

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 23:19:00 +0000

Let’s start with the floating illusion. I would hope that if anyone sees a person suspended in mid-air, they realize that the law of gravitation has not been suspended and that some mechanism hidden from the audience is at work. The history of this illusion traces back to early 19th century India, but it was French magician Robert-Houdin who popularized it by adding a clever twist. Ether had just been introduced as an anesthetic in 1846 and Robert-Houdin cleverly wove the discovery into his act.

Meet the New Rogan. Same as the Old Rogan.

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

It looks as if masculinity itself has exploded into the room.

A Peashooter Will Not Bring Down a Charging Rhino

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 17:01:49 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

“A gesture as effective as sending out a boy with a peashooter to bring down a rhinoceros.”

Ultrasound During Pregnancy: Sound Advice or Sound the Alarm?

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Let’s be honest—pregnancy is basically a nine-month exercise in overthinking. Is that sushi safe? Should I be sleeping on my left side? And what, exactly, is in prenatal vitamins anyway? Somewhere on that ever-expanding list sits the ultrasound: a routine, widely used tool that some corners of the internet have started side-eyeing with suspicion.

Shedding a light on shedding: The Science of Telogen Effluvium

Ana Sophia Rashid-Cocker BSc — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

It started with a few extra hairs: in my brush, on my bathroom floor, strewn across my pillow. Odd, but nothing too alarming, women shed hair all the time. But then there were more. They were dispersed across my computer at work and would fall into my hands at the slightest tug. I began to spiral: could others see them too? I swore I could feel each strand of hair popping off my scalp and drifting down my back.

Ozempic-Induced Blindness? A Measured Response

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

In certain corners of the Internet, the discourse over Ozempic is terrifying. “But the FDA says that [sic] inject Gila Monster venom weekly into yourself is healthy,” one commentator sarcastically declares. “Are they lying?”

Science Shows Carnivore Diet Is Best Left to Lions

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 16:15:43 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Jenny McCarthy, a former Playboy Playmate of the Year, is playing with science again. This time it is all about the “carnivore diet.”

Shedding Light on UV Blood Irradiation

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Would you allow someone to draw your blood out, expose it to ultraviolet light, and pump it back into your body, even if I told you it wouldn’t turn you into the Incredible Hulk?

Con Artists or True Believers?

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

You may be the victim of a grift.

We apparently live in the era of the con, the scam, the grift. Podcasters, YouTubers, and social media influencers have no qualms in referring to anyone that is selling you something that is not backed up by good evidence as a lying grifter.

Anti-vaxxers? Grifters! The Instagram mama with an affiliate link for fluoride-free toothpaste? Grifter! Podcast giant Andrew Huberman who is sponsored by a slew of supplement companies? Grifter!

Sleep Can Often Be Elusive

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 21:37:20 +0000

Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care,
The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast.

Why It’s Hard to Study What People Eat

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 16:26:21 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Does a Chocolate a Day Keep the Grim Reaper Away?

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Theobromine is a naturally occurring bitter alkaloid most prominently found in cocoa beans. A metabolite of caffeine, theobromine shares some of the common effects of the household stimulant. Compared to caffeine, theobromine has a much gentler stimulating effect. This is because it lingers longer in our bodies before being metabolized.

The Paper-Thin Evidence for Mouth Taping

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

TikTokers can’t shut up about this one simple trick. All you need to do is seal your mouth with tape before going to bed, and you will apparently collect a slew of benefits. It will give you more energy, chisel your jawline, and even improve the health of your heart in the long run.

Will Vitamin D Go the Way of Cod Liver Oil?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 16:58:08 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

In many of my public lectures, I address the topic of dietary supplements and often do a rudimentary audience survey. When I ask about taking Vitamin D, the majority of adult hands go up.

$1,950 Worth of Woo: The Biomat, Unwrapped

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Recently, I was forwarded an email about the Biomat—a $1,950 USD “healing mat” that claims to cure everything short of a broken heart. And boy oh boy, is it ever a hotbed of pseudoscience wrapped in a cozy cotton cover and priced like a small vacation. When I dug into the science behind the Biomat’s claims, I found a textbook case of clever marketing dressed up in scientific jargon, with very little evidence to back it up.