It's not often that one stumbles across one million pennies in their attic. But this is just what happened to a California family. Those folks found sacks of pre-1982 pennies weighing 2.7 tons. Could there be a better time to look at the fascinating and colorful properties of copper? I think not.
copper
Plenty of art critics can babble on about this or that. But currently, at the Whitney Museum in New York, a Warhol show is getting rave, babbling reviews. Partly because the flamboyant artist urinated on some of his work. His pee – and that of others, ewww – caused copper paint to turn color. Others can babble about art, but only we at ACSH dare to explain the pop-art power of pee. Call it what you will, anything that is except yellow journalism.
Copper, that darling of gourmet chefs, is great for cookware but not so effective for arthritis sufferers. But eventually it may actually help promote fat breakdown in the body — if, that is, the results of a new study can be replicated.
Hospital-acquired infections in the U.S. have been known to affect more than 700,000 patients in a single year. A new report says some hospitals are combatting this problem by lining surfaces with copper, a practice that has ancient roots. Bacteria resistance, yet, is suspected to be an undermining factor.