When fowl is fare

Happy Thanksgiving! In celebration of Turkey Day, today's Dollecule is one often associated with the Novembird... Tryptophan!

Tryptophan

Name: Tryptophan
Other names: 2-amino-3-(1H-indol-3-yl)propanoic acid, Trp, W
Chemical formula: C₁₁H₁₂N₂O₂
Found in: Poultry, eggs, dairy products, fish
Key: Brown=C, Gold=H, Taupe=N, Red=O

It is frequently said that high amounts of tryptophan in turkey are responsible for post-Thanksgiving food coma, but turkey actually has tryptophan content similar to other poultry. The sleepiness is likely due to the large quantities of food (especially carbohydrates) consumed alongside the turkey.

As usual, this year I'm thankful for friends and family. Speaking of family, Thanksgiving isn't complete without my mom's persimmon pudding. It's the best. You may question that, but the proof is in the pudding. Boom. Solid dad joke there to keep the family theme going. Oh brother, right? Boom again. Something something sister pun something. All the booms.

Stove top stuffing?

But I digress. Here is the secret family recipe for persimmon pudding:

[Redacted] Let me know how it turns out!

Bird's eye bird's-eye view

Thanks given. Goodbye.

Nuclear FSHN

In my time at U of I, I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with some great food scientists. Today's Scholecules are a taste of the graduate research of my current and former labmates. Bon appétit!

~ APPETIZER ~
Tributyrin
glycerol, butyric acid

Tributyrin

Name: Tributyrin
Other names: 1,3-di(butanoyloxy)propan-2-yl butanoate
Chemical formula: C₁₅H₂₆O₆
Found in: Butter, margarine
Key: Orange=C, White=H, Blue=O

Bouches thoroughly amused? Next up is a compound all too familiar to many members of the lab group (including yours truly)...

~ ENTRÉE ~
Sodium chloride
sodium ion, chloride ion

Sodium chloride

Name: Sodium chloride
Other names: (Table) salt, halite, sodium chloric, saline
Chemical formula: NaCl
Found in: Food products, seawater, road salt and de-icing brine
Key: Blue=Na, Orange=Cl

With a reduced sodium option for the hypertensive crowd:

Heart-healthy

Room for dessert? We finish off with the molecule putting dentists' kids through college...

~ DESSERT ~
Sucrose
glucose, fructose

Sucrose

Name: Sucrose
Other names: (Table) sugar, saccharose
Chemical formula: C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁
Found in: Sugarcane, sugar beets, granulated sugars
Key: Orange=C, White=H, Blue=O

Congratulations again to my former labmates who have moved on to greener pastures in the working world.

Study hard, kids.

N'oubliez jamais

We return on a sad note. In honor of a great nation and people... Francium.

Francium

Name: Francium
Other names: Actinium K, eka-caesium
Chemical formula: Fr
Found in: Nuclear synthesis, uranium and thorium ores
Key: Bleu/Blanc/Rouge=Fr

Vive la France.

XXVIII

Today's Dollecule is brought to you by the number 28... Nickel!

Nickel

Name: Nickel
Other names:
Chemical formula: Ni
Found in: Coins, stainless steel, rechargeable batteries
Key: Grey=Ni

Wig party

Catch you on the flip...

Pulp and Circumstance

Graduation season! A time of caps, gowns, and the dulcet tones of one Ms. Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick. This NOMecule is dedicated to all the tassel-turners... Vitamin C!

Vitamin C

Name: Vitamin C
Other names: 2-oxo-L-threo-hexono-1,4-lactone-2,3-enediol, ascorbic acid
Chemical formula: C₆H₈O₆
Found in: Fruits, vegetables, high school graduations
Key: Orange=C, Lime Green=H, Yellow=O

Zesty

Congratulations to all the new and soon-to-be graduates. Now go get paid! Oh, and improve the world and all that good stuff.

But mostly the getting paid thing.

Mornin', neighbor!

Eat your fruits and veggies, kids. But don't sleep on the Purple Stuff, either.

Assemble!

A new Comicule inspired by Earth's Mightiest Heroes... Vibranium!

Vibranium

Name: Vibranium
Other names: None
Chemical formula: Vi?
Found in: Captain America's shield
Key: Red/White/Blue=Vi

I know, I know... not a real chemical (yet?). But let's also remember that Dollecules are thematically colored, anthropomorphic crochet dolls of molecules. So let's not try to make too much sense out of any of it.

Cryochet

Can crochet be a superpower? If a terrorist organization ever holds me captive in a desert cave to use my craft skills for evil, my plan is to crochet myself a suit of armor and escape. I am... I-Yarn Man!

Roll credits.

...And fire

Celebrating the spring swing in weather, we bid winter a cool farewell with Menthol.

Today, we'll greet the heat with another NOMecule... Capsaicin!

Capsaicin

Name: Capsaicin
Other names: (E)-N-[(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-8-methylnon-6-enamide, 8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide
Chemical formula: C₁₈H₂₇NO₃
Found in: Peppers, hot sauce, pepper spray, topical analgesics, fiery Dornish peppers
Key: Red=C, Orange=H, Maroon=N, Dark Green=O

The largest Dollecule to date (I guess there is one upside to the travel times between the Midwest and Pacific Coast) and also one of my favorites. I love spicy food, and I had some fun with how the Capsaicin molecule is shaped almost like a chili pepper.

Not Pictured: Pepto-Bismol

#CannotKillADragon

I love me some Taco Bell. The go-to spot for all cravings cheesy, grilled, melty, or crunchy (and every combination thereof), not to mention the home of the second best fast food sauce out there. You know who the king is:

No shame in second place here.

I set fire to the range

Thanks for stopping by at Chemigurumi where We Do Not Sew. Enjoy the warm weather and dust off those grills!

A song of ice...

Springtime! The season marked by the time-honored traditions of allergies, marshmallow Peeps (though I'm more of a Cadbury Creme Egg guy myself), and new episodes of Game of Thrones. As we stow our snow shovels and re-acquaint our lower legs with sunlight, I have two new Nomecules to help celebrate the seasonal swing. We'll start by bidding farewell to winter with one cool customer... Menthol!

Menthol

Name: l-Menthol
Other names: (1R,2S,5R)-5-methyl-2-propan-2-ylcyclohexan-1-ol, menthomenthol, peppermint camphor
Chemical formula: C₁₀H₂₀O
Found in: Mint, peppermint oil, oral hygiene products, topical analgesics, cigarettes
Key: Mint Green=C, Dark Green=H, Lime Green=O

Let's hold off on that orange juice...

We can't have a post about mint without discussing Thin Mints. We're talking about an all-time top five cookie (for the curious: Thin Mints, homemade chocolate chip cookies, Nilla Wafers, snickerdoodles, and Mother's Taffy cookies, in some order). If you are in the 0.1% of people that don't like Thin Mints, I think Ygritte put it best:

Please join my petition asking the Girl Scouts to start selling Thick Mints. Every signature counts, people.

So fresh and so clean clean

Winter is coming gone. Tune in next time when we turn up the heat...

Smoke on the horizon

To Be Continued...

Green chemistry

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I wanted to make something festive for the holiday but couldn't think of a signature green molecule (and don't say chlorophyll because ain't nobody got time for that). There is one compound that comes to mind for St. Patrick's Day, though, so stay tuned for an encore presentation of... Ethanol!

Ethanol

Name: Ethanol
Other names: Ethyl alcohol
Chemical formula: C₂H₅OH
Found in: Alcohol!
Key: Dark Green=C, Mint Green=H, Lime Green=O

Yes, ethanol again. I guess it's true—green is not a creative color.

Sláinte!

See foam green?

Short post this time, but there are some fun Dollecules on deck so check back soon. Until then... more internet!

Passion project

It's that time of year again, when we celebrate letting that special someone in. Happy Arizona Statehood Day! Oh? Valentine's Day? Uh, yeah, that too! Whether you're head over heels or if you've lost that lovin' feelin', I've got just the Dollecule for you... Dopamine!

Dopamine

Name: Dopamine
Other names: 4-(2-Aminoethyl)benzene-1,2-diol
Chemical formula: C₈H₁₁NO₂
Found in: Central nervous system, reward pathways, that lovin' feelin', heart medication
Key: Red=C, Pink=H, White=N, Maroon=O

Hormonal balance

If you're here just for the dolls, feel free to skip this next little bit.

For those still with me, I'd like to celebrate this most amorous of days with a story of love at first sight. One June morning, my girlfriend and I saw a 3-D movie and we may-or-may-not-have-but-definitely-did eat a giant bag of gummy bears. Between the graphics, the glasses, and the gummies, after the movie we were not quite up for lunch yet. We decided to buy our stomachs some settling time by visiting the local Humane Society.

That's where we met Obi. Or "Myles" if you go by his nomme de shelter. A scruffy little Jack Russell mix with a spotted belly and ears that flopped for days—we instantly fell in love with him. We asked to see him in one of the meet-and-greet rooms, and it was around the time he rolled over our feet for a belly rub that we knew we had a new family member.

Here we are almost three years later, never once regretting our decision. And we owe it all to 3-D animation and high fructose corn syrup molded into anthropomorphic bears (we really should send thank you's to Disney and Haribo). Say hello to my other long distance relationship:

Obi dropping some sign language

Right back at you buddy

Cutest tangent ever, right? Crochet stuff resume!

I think Obi does it better

Love actually

Happy Valentine's Day to all the couples out there. And if you're single and looking to brew up some love, a bag of gummy bears is a pretty good start to any love potion.

Thawwwwwww yeah!

This Dollecule is dedicated to the joys of winter driving. To leaving the house five minutes early so you can scrape the windshield with an old giftcard. To dreams of luxuries like remote car starters... covered parking... 40 degree weather... I present the best friend of my fellow cold weather commuters... Ethylene glycol!

Ethylene glycol

Name: Ethylene glycol
Other names: Ethane-1,2-diol, ethylene alcohol
Chemical formula: C₂H₆O₂
Found in: Antifreeze, de-icing fluid, coolant
Key: Periwinkle=C, Green=H, Turquoise=O

Up in my grill

Driving in snow for the first time has been an experience. Gotta love those cinderblocks of frozen street juice that build up in the wheel wells. And uncleared snow luggage on the car in front of you that flies off at the worst possible time. But then you see this guy in the quad and it seems like a pretty fair trade-off:

Bichon freeze? Dobrrrrrrman? Does it melt into a poodle?

The hot stays hot and the cool stays cool

Bundle up. Clean your boots off at the door. Blow your nose. All that good stuff.

Yeah science!

With classes starting again, this post is inspired by that show about the high school chemistry teacher gone extracurricular—Breaking Bad. I'm a big fan of Breaking Bad for its great writing and acting and fun use of chemistry. Even the header of this blog is an homage to the titles from the show. I now present... the molecules of Breaking Bad!

L-R: Hydrofluoric acid, methamphetamine, fulminated mercury, methylamine

This speech from the pilot episode captures not only the essence of chemistry and Breaking Bad, but crafting as well. I love crochet for its ability to combine different materials and themes into something greater than the individual parts.

Fulminated mercury

Name: Mercury(II) fulminate
Other names: Fulminated mercury
Chemical formula: C₂N₂O₂Hg
Found in: Breaking Bad!, blasting caps
Key: Yellow=C, Orange=N, Red=O, White=Hg

Hey, it forms little crystals! Is that meth?

Oh. Nevermind.

Methamphetamine

Name: Methamphetamine
Other names: N-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-amine
Chemical formula: C₁₀H₁₅N
Found in: Breaking Bad!, narcotics, medications
Key: Turquoise=C, White=H, Periwinkle=N

Hydrofluoric acid

Name: Hydrofluoric acid
Other names: Fluoric acid
Chemical formula: HF
Found in: Breaking Bad!, etchants
Key: Red=H, Purple=F

The tub is probably not the best place for that hydrofluoric acid...

Methylamine

Name: Methylamine
Other names: Aminomethane, methanamine
Chemical formula: CH₃NH₂
Found in: Breaking Bad!, organic synthesis
Key: Black=C, White=H, Yellow=N

Remember when it comes to crochet, you know who to go to. I'm the one who knots!