butter vs margarine

[smokey the elder]

A lot of the piece is accurate (the trans fatty acid, and the bit about being "one atom away from plastic". But it is violating a law of nature for something to start out black and be dyed yellow! Scientific illiteracy p!sses me off.

[Lady's Human]

Smokey, get used to it. Schools are more concerned with teaching social behavior and making sure the student's self esteem is high than teaching science.

Again, there are a lot of foods that are "one atom" away from being plastic, as most foods are rich in carbohydrates, and carbon hydrogen chains are the basis of most plastics. Re reading the original post, however, is even more irritating..........it states that margarine is one MOLECULE away from being plastic. Ummm, last time I checked, plastics were molecules. Very long chain molecules.

[smokey the elder]

You're right. It's tough being a chemist these days. It's hard not to heave objects at the TV when the speaker gets something scientific blatantly wrong.