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Does Cough Medicine Really Work?

Well, the cough syrup chemistry actually. If you reach for the cherry-flavored cough medicine, you're not alone. Every year, people spend billions of dollars on this stuff. But does any of it actually work? In this episode, we explain the chemistry behind cough medicine, and dig into the evidence to find out which remedies actually wo
Season 3 Episode 55 Length 03:55 Premiere: 01/03/17

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Specials

Season 3 Episodes

Does Cough Medicine Really Work?
S3 E55 Length 03:55 Premiere Date 01/03/17

How Does Alcohol Get You Drunk?
S3 E54 Length 03:26 Premiere Date 12/27/16

The Cold Truth About Fat
S3 E53 Length 03:00 Premiere Date 12/22/16

Let's Settle This: How to Care for Cast-Iron
S3 E52 Length 03:08 Premiere Date 12/15/16

How To Get Rid of Beer Foam Fast
S3 E51 Length 01:35 Premiere Date 12/07/16

You Can Taste Garlic with Your Feet!?
S3 E50 Length 02:36 Premiere Date 12/06/16

Gum + Chocolate = ?????
S3 E49 Length 02:10 Premiere Date 12/04/16

Can I Still Eat This?
S3 E48 Length 04:19 Premiere Date 11/29/16

How to Fry a Thanksgiving Turkey Without Burning Your House
S3 E47 Length 03:14 Premiere Date 11/21/16

What's the Deal with Acne?
S3 E46 Length 03:56 Premiere Date 11/15/16

The Science of Distance Running
S3 E45 Length 04:23 Premiere Date 11/03/16

How Much Candy Would Kill You?
S3 E44 Length 03:32 Premiere Date 11/03/16

Have We Found All The Elements?
S3 E43 Length 05:19 Premiere Date 10/19/16

How Does Anesthesia Work?
S3 E42 Length 03:23 Premiere Date 10/11/16

What Causes PMS?
S3 E41 Length 03:30 Premiere Date 10/04/16

How To Bring Stale Chips And Bread Back From The Dead
S3 E40 Length 03:39 Premiere Date 09/27/16

Accidental Discoveries That Go Boom
S3 E39 Length 05:40 Premiere Date 09/20/16

How Do Lithium-Ion Batteries Work?
S3 E38 Length 03:46 Premiere Date 09/13/16

Genetically Modified Humans? CRISPR/Cas 9 Explained
S3 E37 Length 03:56 Premiere Date 09/06/16

What If Humans Could Photosynthesize?
S3 E36 Length 04:04 Premiere Date 08/30/16

Is It OK To Pee In The Pool?
S3 E35 Length 03:00 Premiere Date 08/16/16

How To Make Fish Less Fishy (Chemistry Life Hacks)
S3 E34 Length 03:12 Premiere Date 08/09/16

How to Catch Dopers
S3 E33 Length 03:45 Premiere Date 08/04/16

The World's Most Unavoidable Carcinogen
S3 E32 Length 03:04 Premiere Date 07/26/16

How Does Protein Build Muscle?
S3 E31 Length 03:40 Premiere Date 07/19/16

How To Make a Fluorescent Flower
S3 E30 Length 01:41 Premiere Date 07/12/16

How Does Fluorescence Work?
S3 E29 Length 03:23 Premiere Date 07/12/16

Is Fluoride in Drinking Water Safe?
S3 E28 Length 03:14 Premiere Date 07/05/16

How Do Sparklers Work?
S3 E27 Length 02:23 Premiere Date 06/28/16

Why the Maillard Reaction Makes Everything Delicious
S3 E26 Length 02:53 Premiere Date 06/21/16

Elephant Toothpaste
S3 E25 Length 03:00 Premiere Date 06/14/16

Why Do Onions Make You Cry?
S3 E24 Length 02:18 Premiere Date 06/07/16

Does Gum Really Stay In Your Stomach for 7 Years?
S3 E23 Length 03:00 Premiere Date 05/17/16

Does Homeopathy Work?
S3 E22 Length 04:44 Premiere Date 05/10/16

How Can You Make Flowers Last Longer?
S3 E21 Length 03:09 Premiere Date 05/06/16

What's The Best Way To Whiten Teeth?
S3 E20 Length 03:59 Premiere Date 04/26/16

Why Is Snake Venom So Deadly?
S3 E19 Length 03:48 Premiere Date 04/19/16

What Makes Coffee So Good?
S3 E18 Length 04:54 Premiere Date 04/12/16

How Does Toothpaste Work and Who Are We?
S3 E17 Length 02:35 Premiere Date 04/07/16

Why Does Metal Rust?
S3 E16 Length 01:54 Premiere Date 12/21/22

Why Do Wasps Attack?
S3 E15 Length 05:00 Premiere Date 04/05/16

Why Are Synthetic Drugs So Dangerous?
S3 E14 Length 03:32 Premiere Date 03/29/16

The Truth About Peanut Allergies
S3 E13 Length 02:41 Premiere Date 03/22/16

Why Does Food Make Your Mouth Water?
S3 E12 Length 03:10 Premiere Date 03/15/16

What Happens If You Stop Washing Your Hair?
S3 E11 Length 03:15 Premiere Date 03/08/16

How Does Shampoo Work?
S3 E10 Length 03:38 Premiere Date 03/08/16

How Does Hairspray Work?
S3 E9 Length 02:52 Premiere Date 03/08/16

Why Does Stepping On a Lego Hurt So Bad?
S3 E8 Length 03:04 Premiere Date 03/01/16

How Do Matches Work?
S3 E7 Length 02:02 Premiere Date 02/23/16

You're Cleaning Your Contacts Wrong, Probably
S3 E6 Length 04:42 Premiere Date 02/18/16

Zika, Mosquitoes and How to Not Get Bitten
S3 E5 Length 04:24 Premiere Date 02/06/16

How to Make the Best Nacho Cheese
S3 E4 Length 02:59 Premiere Date 02/01/16

How Do Snowflakes Form?
S3 E3 Length 02:39 Premiere Date 01/21/16

Why Is Chocolate Deadly for Dogs?
S3 E2 Length 02:15 Premiere Date 01/18/16

How Do Bees Make Honey?
S3 E1 Length 02:25 Premiere Date 01/11/16

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