Top all-time · #2271
Andy Brunning
Personal blog · compoundchem.comscience
Andy Brunning writes Compound Interest, a personal blog at compoundchem.com about science. Since 2014, 36 different Hacker News readers have linked it 51 times, most often “What Causes the Smell of New and Old Books?”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-10-07, and you can follow it by feed.
Eye-catching infographics about everyday chemistry.
Most-linked posts?
- What Causes the Smell of New and Old Books?2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2019-03-04
- /2018/09/26/coffee-decaffeination/2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2023-05-14
- What Causes the Smell of New and Old Books? Here's the Chemistry2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2014-06-13
- /2014/07/27/lethaldoses/2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2019-08-19
- A Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2014-04-06
What Hacker News says?
I think the parent comment was implying that jam can be healthy just because it uses whole fruit as an ingredient. The chemistry behind turning a mixture of fruit and sugar into something called jam is pretty well known - there has to be a certain ratio of sugar for it to "set". Usually this is 1:1. I wrote my comment because I think that people are shocked when they actually see jam being made at home and how much…
Comment linking /2014/09/22/what-makes-jam-set-the-chemistry-of-jam-making/
on “Eat This Much – Automatic Meal Planner”Submitted What Causes the Smell of New and Old Books? as a story · 76 points
HN discussionFor those interested in a infographic on the chemistry of grapefruit, see [1] [1] https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/03/07/why-does-grapefruit-...
Comment linking /2014/03/07/why-does-grapefruit-interact-with-drugs-the-chemistry-of-a-grapefruit/
on “From its name to its drug interactions, there’s a lot going on with grapefruit”Submitted Baking Bread: The Chemistry of Bread-Making as a story · 13 points
HN discussionCompound Chemical post and infographic where probably a bunch of this article was sourced from: https://www.compoundchem.com/2021/07/27/tokyo2020/
Comment linking /2021/07/27/tokyo2020/
on “Medals at Tokyo olympics are recycled from discarded electronic equipment”Submitted What Causes the Smell of New and Old Books? Here's the Chemistry as a story · 12 points
HN discussionNever had to train myself, always just liked them, and they don't taste particularly bitter. So I had a hunch it was like cilantro, and seems there's indeed a genetic reason[1]. So fair enough, if they taste bitter I'll accept it's not a nice side dish. [1]: https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/12/04/brusselssprouts/
Comment linking /2014/12/04/brusselssprouts/
on “Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)”Submitted A Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science as a story · 11 points
HN discussionBenzene hasn't been used in decades. See this for information about solvent decaffeination: https://www.compoundchem.com/2018/09/26/coffee-decaffeinatio... Earlier this year dichloromethane was banned in the US for all but a handful of uses, so producers who used it in the recent past will not be able to any more: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration...
Comment linking /2018/09/26/coffee-decaffeination/
on “A chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee”Submitted The Chemicals Behind the Colours of Autumn Leaves (2014) as a story · 4 points
HN discussionDon't eat spinach for iron, spinach is a very poor source of iron...[1] [multiple other sources you can google as well] And vegetarians struggle quite a bit with getting proper dietary nutrition, not just with iron, but also Vitamin B12, Zinc, Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin D, Calcium, Protein and Riboflavin. So it is not quite just "simply" adjust your diet you lazy meat eater. [1] https://www.compoundchem.com/2018/0…
Comment linking /2018/07/17/spinach/
on “Fighting climate change may be cheaper and more beneficial than we think”Submitted How can inkcap mushrooms give you the worst hangover? as a story · 4 points
HN discussion> potential dangers of every synthetic chemical I wouldn't put too much importance on the synthetic / natural distinction. Lead, tobacco, and various radioactive elements (uranium, radium, thorium, and radon) are all perfectly natural. If you were harmed by chemicals in the last century, it was probably one of them. There are also thousands of lab-made chemicals that never make the news because they're just not harm…
Comment linking /2014/05/19/natural-vs-man-made-chemicals-dispelling-misconceptions/
on “Sperm Count Dropping in Western World”Submitted Dandelion chemistry: Diuretics and the tyres of the future as a story · 3 points
HN discussion> At what point does it become dangerous to continue to drink water ? According to this page [0], the LD50 of water is 6 liters, so somewhere before that. [0] https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/07/27/lethaldoses/
Comment linking /2014/07/27/lethaldoses/
on “Drinking fluoridated water during pregnancy may lower IQ in sons”Submitted Antibody tests, part 1: What can antibody tests tell us? as a story · 3 points
HN discussionIgnorance was/is bliss for the pleasure. I don't smoke (never did, really), gamble (parents were rabid horse bettors), or drink anymore, so let's say it is one of a few vices I am keeping for the pure pleasure of it. At least I am not huffing gas, and I always liked when my Dad pulled in and filled the car up. I did paintings conservation for over 3 years, and I developed sensitivities to the benzene family like tol…
Comment linking /2014/06/01/newoldbooksmell/
on “The Magnavox Odyssey was the first commercial home video game console”Submitted This Year in Chemistry: 2015’s Biggest Chemistry Stories as a story · 3 points
HN discussionThis [0] does not suggest that anything but ethanol/water and potentially some other volatile compounds are in the distillate. I'm not familiar with brewing and flavoring distilled spirits, but quite familiar with distillation and doubt that even oil would be in the distillate. [1] suggests that tannins are present in the distillate, but I have not found a tannin that is volatile and [2] names one that isn't in beer…
Comment linking /2016/06/08/vodka/
on “Possibility of Disinfection of SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in Human Respiratory Tract”Submitted The Periodic Table’s Endangered Elements as a story · 3 points
HN discussion> When interpreting electrons as particles, the atom is mostly empty The Bohr planetary model, which I assume is what you're referring to, is equivalent to Newtonian mechanics. It's simple to understand and a good starting point for high schoolers. It's even still usable for certain types of calculations. However, like Newtonian mechanics, at a deeper level and according to modern understanding, it's fundamentally w…
Comment linking /2016/10/13/atomicmodels/
on “We are not empty: The concept of the atomic void is a mistake”Submitted The Chemistry of the Colours of Bodily Fluids as a story · 2 points
HN discussionYou're thinking of the method called '(Swiss) water decaffeination', which does indeed only use water. However, these also exist other methods, some of which do use solvents: https://www.compoundchem.com/2018/09/26/coffee-decaffeinatio...
Comment linking /2018/09/26/coffee-decaffeination/
on “Is It Time to Quit Coffee for Good?”Submitted Antibody tests, part 2: How do antibody tests work? as a story · 2 points
HN discussionInteresting paper. But does it really matter how much caffeine is in a cup of coffee? The LD50 for coffee is so high you can’t reach it via coffee cup consumption realistically. https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/07/27/lethaldoses/ If you want to find the optimal caffeine intake for yourself while still enjoying coffee for the aroma and taste, you probably should switch from hot brewing, which basically forces you to…
Comment linking /2014/07/27/lethaldoses/
on “How Much Caffeine in Coffee Cup?”Submitted The Chemistry of Coloured Glass as a story · 2 points
HN discussionAnother great one is Compound Interest. https://www.compoundchem.com/infographics/
Comment linking /infographics/
on “Beautifully Designed College Chemistry Handouts”Submitted What causes the color of gemstones? (2014) as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted How much gold is in an Olympic gold medal? (Not much.) as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Chemical Warfare – V Series Nerve Agents as a story · 2 points
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