I’m really excited to finally be able to go back  out into the world, but I think I've   I’ve kind of forgotten how to talk to people.

We all know that chemistry pub trivia is the best conversation starter.

People love that stuff.

And fortunately,   I know someone who’s really great  at it who's going to help me practice.

Hello.

Hello Ok, teach me how to talk to people at a pub.

Guess how many bubbles are in this beer.

Ten thousand?

Not even close.

Ummm, eleven thousand?

Nope.

Twelve thousand!

Alright calm down.

When you pour beer into a glass,  bubbles mostly made of carbon dioxide   start coming out of solution  and rising to the surface.

So to figure out how many bubbles were  in a glass of beer, researchers measured   the amount of carbon dioxide dissolved in that  beer just after it was poured into a tilted glass.

Got it.

Using that value, they figured out that dissolved  CO2 would spontaneously come together to form   streams of bubbles wherever crevices and cavities  in the glass were more than 1.4 microns wide.

So, like, thirteen thousand?

They estimated there could  be between 200,000 and 2   million bubbles released before a  half-pint of lager would go flat.

Amazing.

Keep talking.

See this pretty foam?

OK so we're switching to hard alcohol?

Uh the foam is actually egg whites.

Egg whites  are filled with proteins that act as surfactants.

One end of a surfactant is hydrophilic or  attracted to water, the other is hydrophobic—hates   water.

So if you add egg whites to your cocktail  then shake it up, the hydrophobic parts of the   surfactants stay in the air that gets mixed in,  while the hydrophilic bits stick to the liquid   in the drink.

The surfactants surround these tiny  little air bubbles, stopping the smaller bubbles   from just combining to form larger bubbles that  could eventually escape.

And voila!

You have foam.

Is that, for… who’s that for?

I got you another drink.

Don’t worry, it’s  not alcoholic.

Are you a Shirley Temple fan?

She was kinda before my time.

Shirley temple, the drink.

What do  you think grenadine is made from?

I don't know, I never really thou— Wrong!

It's not cherries.

It's actually   pomegranate juice reduced with  sugar and then dyed bright red.

Ooh, pomegranate.

Fun fact, did you know that  during the prohibition a lot   of people would go blind from drinking alcohol?

That’s actually not fun at all.

Want to talk about something less depressing?

Yeah, definitely.

Great.

On to food.

Try this.

Spicy.

Yeah, that’s jalapeno which has a  lot of a compound called capsaicin.

Yup, yup, that’s spicy.

Capsaicin will bind to proteins on pain receptor  cells in a lot of places, including your mouth,   and triggers a response telling you you’re in  pain.

It’s the same signal that’s sent if you   touch a burning stove or skin your knee.

If you  want to get rid of that spice—which it looks like   you do —keep in mind that capsaicin is nonpolar,  like oil, so something polar, like the beer you're holding,   isn’t gonna do much .

You need something with  molecules that are also non-polar.

Here’s some ice   cream—there are lots of nonpolar molecules in here  like fats and proteins that are not polar.

But I’m…Yeah I know, you’re  lactose intolerant--don’t worry   it’s made with almond milk.

Sweet stuff will actually help   too.

Not entirely clear why,  but researchers think it’ll overwhelm your   taste buds with that sweet sensation, masking the  burn.

I actually made a video on this last year.

Ok, let’s move on.

Giving you a jalapeno chips was kind  of mean of me.

I have a peace offering.

Offering accepted.

Did you know that chemists have actually  ID’d odor compounds in pretzel crusts?

A team found 22 compounds, and made  a pretzel perfume out of it, Now that would be a conversation  starter if you wore it to a bar.

It really would.

So they removed each  individual molecule to figure out the   ones that are ESSENTIAL for this amazing pretzel  smell.

It came down to two in particular:   2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which has a roasted smell,   and 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone,  which has a caramel smell.

Got it, got it.

4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone.

Ok, last food—hope you’re a pickle fan.

Actually yeah, big pickle fan.

Great!

So pickling can actually be done in a   couple of ways.

You can either soak the food   you’re trying to pickle, like this cucumber  here, in something acidic (like vinegar)   or you can let it ferment and it’ll  create its own vinegar.

Pretty cool.

And delicious.

Agreed.

Alright—that’s all I got for ya.

Ok, I think I’m ready.

You’re not.

But bring your  notes, and when you feel awkward,   hit ‘em with some chemistry trivia.

You’ll do great.

Or at least fine.

And   if all else fails, remember  that hydrogen bonding is always applicable.