Chemistry Hack # 1: Stop the crying

Tired of crying when cutting onions?  Place your onions in the refrigerator.  When you cut onions you are breaking open individual onion cells which release volatile compounds that can irritate your eyes.  The cooler temps in the refrigerator will slow down the chemical reactions so it will take longer for the acidic compounds (specifically Syn-propanethial-S-oxide) to form and less likely to diffuse up towards your eyes.  You could also cut them submerged under water in a dish which will release the compounds into the water and not the air.  
​***credit Anne Helmenstein PhD.