Category — Chemistry

Everyone knows not to put a sharpie in the hands of a 2-year-old. When he goes running down the halls, drawing on the walls (and his clothes), those marks are going to be much harder to clean up than if you gave the kid a crayola.

Why is a crayola “washable,” and a sharpie permanent? When you put the crayola through the wash, the water can dissolve the ink out of the shirt, but this doesn’t happen with sharpies. The answer has to do with the chemistry of the dyes.

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We encounter different types of fat when cooking a meal. Butter, lard, vegetable oil, olive oil, fats in meats, fats are everywhere. They are also versatile  sculpture media: butter art is a common fixture at state fairs.

But what is it exactly that makes butter solid? And why is vegetable oil liquid at the same temperature? They are both essentially the same thing: fats. What makes them different? The answer has to do with their chemistry.

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