The Daily Bolt

Part 1 of 2 episodes discussing the scientific contributions of Benjamin Franklin.    Represents the start of another new recurring feature on the Daily Bolt

Rare July frosts in Brazil's prime coffee growing region will result in higher, and perhaps sharply higher, coffee prices in 2022.

First of a recurring series featuring why, from a scientific perspective, things work they way they do.  Today:  Why, chemically, vinegar and baking soda are good cleaning agents and alternatives to other cleaning products. 

On this day in 1695, a patent for a portable barometer was issued to a British inventor.  Such an invention was an important step towards our modern understanding of atmospheric pressure and weather systems.   Learn more in this podcast. Video of this podcast, including images of the portable instrument, is available on YouTube (search for 'The Daily Bolt'). 

I provide an update as to how the drought that much of the Western US has been experiencing through much of 2021 is progressing.  There's some good news and some not-so-good news.  Listen to find out!

On this date in 1889, Vladimir Zworkyin was born.  Why should we care?  If you own a television, you should certainly care.  Listen to find out why!

We briefly discuss a new study from the University of South Australia that suggests that people who drink more coffee daily end up with smaller brain volumes. And a bigger risk of developing dementia.  Maybe it's time to switch to tea...

In an originally unplanned addition to the discussion on Scientific Consensus, we discuss how government agencies and programs, by their ability to control research funding, can contribute to the formation of a specific consensus on a specific scientific issue.  It's not as far-fetched as you might think.  I've seen it in action. 

We continue the discussion as to instances when scientific consensus was wrong, and how the current call to "follow the science" , meaning, "follow the scientific consensus", could be dangerous. 

We tackle the idea of "scientific consensus" and whether it has value and under what conditions.  Part 1 of 2.