The Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life & What Does it Mean to Be Alive?

When you order something online, do you then track the package to see where it is and when it is coming? This episode begins with the results of a survey about how people track their orders and why and how they hate it when a package is late. https://blog.4over.com/delivery-tracking-consumers-statistics Do you know how soap and moisturizers work? Do you know how caffeine keeps you awake? It’s all chemistry! Everything you do and everywhere you go there is a lot of fascinating chemistry going on and here to explain it is chemist Kate Bibendorf. Kate is a chemist and author of the book It’s Elemental: The Hidden Chemistry in Everything (https://amzn.to/3ycoZEK) You will hear things you never knew before and you will likely never drink a flaming shot of vodka ever again! How do you define - life? Seems like we should know and understand the definition of life but it turns out be a mystery. Why? That’s what Carl Zimmer set out to discover. Carl writes the writes the Matter column for The New York Times and is author of 13 books including Life's Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive (https://amzn.to/3yhCBP1) and he joins me to explain what we do know, what we don’t know and how some things you might think are alive - actually are not. Or are they? When it’s hot outside, it’s tempting to grab a cool drink from the garden hose. However, you may want to - NOT. Listen as I explain why drinking water from a hose is usually a bad idea and why it’s best to go in the house and get a glass of water. https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2010/06/do-you-suppose-it-s-safe-to-drink-from-a-hose/ PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Save time, money, and stress with Firstleaf – the wine club designed with you in mind! Join today and you’ll get 6 bottles of wine for $29.95 and free shipping! Just go to https://tryfirstleaf.com/SOMETHING Dell’s Semi Annual Sale is the perfect time to power up productivity and gaming victories. Now you can save what Dell employees save on high-performance tech. Save 17% on the latest XPS and Alienware computers with Intel Core processors. Plus, check out exclusive savings on Dell monitors, headsets and accessories for greater immersion in all you do. Upgrade today by calling 800 buy Dell, or you can visit https://dell.com/Semi Annual Sale Search for Home. Made., an original podcast by Rocket Mortgage that explores the meaning of home and what it can teach us about ourselves and others.  Download the five star-rated puzzle game Best Fiends FREE today on the Apple App Store or Google Play! https://bestfiends.com Discover matches all the cash back you earn on your credit card at the end of your first year automatically and is accepted at 99% of places in the U.S. that take credit cards! Learn more at https://discover.com/yes Learn about investment products and more at https://Investor.gov, your unbiased resource for valuable investment information, tools and tips. Before You Invest, https://Investor.gov. Visit https://remy-cointreau.com to learn more about their exceptional spirits! https://www.geico.com Bundle your policies and save! It's Geico easy! Leaving a child in a hot vehicle can lead to their death very quickly. If you see a child left unattended call 911, if the child looks unresponsive, do what it takes to get him or her out safely. Paid for by NHTSA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices