Saturday mornings were for cereals and cartoons. Sunday mornings were for egg experiments with my dad.
When it was dad’s turn to make breakfast, I knew it was okay to play with my food. Just a little.
He showed me how to cook an egg without using any heat.
The premise: you submerge a raw egg in a bowl of vinegar. The highly acidic vinegar disintegrates the shell in just a few minutes and before you know it - you’ve got an acid-cooked egg.
(Squeeze in a few drops of green food coloring and you have a simple St. Patrick’s Day experiment for your kids later this month!)
It even bounced off the kitchen floor when I dropped it.
I still think about that acid-cooked egg. I know the things you do are just a little more advanced than my old tyme egg experiment, but I hope you still get a little of that nostalgia and childlike excitement when an order from our family arrives at your lab.
Acids for your own experiments
Just over 250 years ago this March, the first chemistry lab in the U.S. was established at Princeton University. To honor the passing of this milestone, we’re talking all about the acids that make chemistry possible.
Why are PVC-coated bottles safest for acids in your lab?
It might just be the way your lab does things. Or maybe your lab doesn’t, and right now you’re having a real uh-oh moment. Concentrated acids should always be purchased and stored in PVC-coated glass bottles. Why? If a bottle is accidentally knocked off the utility cart of workstation, it won’t shatter and spill acid all over the place. The PVC creates a plastic envelope around the bottle. It may discolor over time, but the discoloration doesn’t affect the coating or the quality of the acid inside the bottle. Click here to make sure the acids you use come in PVC-coated bottles (if they’re manufactured by Corco, they are PVC-coated).
Millipore Milestone
You asked for more MilliporeSigma chemicals from us because that’s the brand your lab prefers to work with. So at the end of 2021, we finalized an agreement with MilliporeSigma to bring more of your preferred chemicals to the Northeast US. That means uniquely low hazmat fees, quick delivery, and immediate service for the unique needs labs have in this corner of the country. You can see that selection of supplies here.
Oxid-eyes on the Prize Since 1933
It’s 1933. Franklin D. Roosevelt is sworn in as the 32nd President of The United States. The Dust Bowl devastates South Dakota farmlands. The Lone Ranger debuts on the radio. Reeling from the Depression, analytical chemists and microbiologists in Philadelphia, home to a large contingent of oil and gas refineries, struggle to secure the right equipment for their industrial labs.
They, like you, work on aviation fuels or consumer oil and gas products. They develop cleaning products and better agricultural fertilizers.
Thomas McCutcheon begins networking with scientists in the Philadelphia area, discussing the unmet demand for lab supplies - oxidizers in particular. He builds a solid supply chain for oxidizers to the labs, ushering in a boom of innovation in the Northeast. He’d be happy to know his hard work still helps your lab get the oxidizers you need.
Inspire Organic Curiosity
When we think back to our kitchen sink science experiments on weekend mornings, we’re reminded why we got into science in the first place - curiosity.
And what sparks more curiosity than discovering the mindboggling science in nature? It’s the acetic acid, straight out of the earth and natural processes, that blew our minds as junior scientists.
Today, we continue to curate and refine the ideal selection of organic acids to help you keep that same enthusiasm in your day-to-day work. You can find that evolving collection here.
Can’t find what you need on our website? We stock thousands of SKUs that aren’t available online. Get in touch with our team for preferred pricing on everything you need.
