"Ben Selinger reaches out to everyone, offering digestible pearls of scientific wisdom. I earnestly commend this book to you." Don Burke "I"ve always loved armpits (especially with their fresh natural smells), bubbles in champagne, and non-rubbery jelly. And how can cooking oil fumes give you cancer?" Karl Kruszelnicki Why leave rubber bands on the photocopier? Is it safer to breath the air inside or outside? Why the interest in antioxidants? Do you know the chemicals in your kitchen cupboard? Does it matter if your pots and pans dissolve in the puree? Where are bubbles born and do real rotters have a sense of humus? Written with authority, wit and humour, Why the Watermelon Won"t Ripen in Your Armpit describes the bizarre and not so bizarre science of our everyday lives. Ben Selinger, one of Australia"s leading chemists and science popularisers, opens up a giant box of fabulous facts and intriguing notions for the science literate and non-literate alike.