Chemist With Visual Flair Answers Burning Food Science Questions

NPR has the story on one educator who is taking food science to a beautiful new level.

Not every chemistry teacher needs go the way of Breaking Bad’s Walter White and make methamphetamine if they’re looking for a compelling side gig.

Andy Brunning, a high school chemistry teacher in the UK, makes beautiful infographics on everyday chemistry on his blog, called Compound Interest. Thanks in part to the American Chemical Society, which has turned several of his posts into videos, his clever visuals have been going viral.

Unsurprisingly, his most popular posts are generally about food and drink. They answer such vexing question as: Why does asparagus make your pee smell? What makes grapefruit interact with prescription drugs?

(We’ve written up his take on the smell of cooking bacon and why garlic make your breath stink. We admit we’ve been crushing on him a little.)

Now Brunning plans to publish a book of infographics focusing on “the weird quirks and effects of certain foods, and the chemistry behind them,” he tells The Salt. “I’m hoping the book will be visually engaging and fun to dip in and out of, even for people with just a passing interest in chemistry.”

Read more from NPR and visit Brunning’s blog here.


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