Odds and ends: Why onions make you cry and zorses, zonkeys and zonies

Being a scientist means that people think I know a lot of stuff. Alas, they soon discover what it means to be a scientist is that you know you don't know a lot of stuff and that the stuff you don't know is even more vast than you could have imagined.

Recently, a friend wanted to know about what could be done about crying while chopping onions. Suffice to say, I didn't have any answers.

But isn't the internet wonderful? I looked it up and found this web page. Excerpts:

The knife breaks open some onion cells. Inside some of these cells are enzymes called allinases. In the air, the allinases break down some of the other substances, like amino acid sulfoxides, released from the onion cells. The amino acid sulfoxides form sulfenic acids, which rearrange themselves in a flash into a volatile gas.

This gas flows to your eyes and reacts with the water in them. A chemical reaction occurs, producing a mild form of sulfuric acid. The sensitive nerve endings in your eyes are irritated, and more water is produced in the form of tears. The tears are trying to neutralize the irritant. Sulfenic acids also form odorous thiosulfinates, which are responsible for the strong odor we smell from onions.
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Some people suggest putting the onion in the fridge or the freezer for a few minutes because the cold decreases the speed of the reaction. When slicing a raw onion, it is recommended to slice the area around the root last. There are a greater number of allinase enzymes surrounding the onion root.

Other people run the onion under cold water while slicing. You could also try pouring a small amount of white distilled vinegar on the cutting board or setting a lighted candle nearby. Of course, you should always be careful around open flames.

This tip sounds a little silly, but it might work for you -- hold a slice of bread between your teeth while slicing. Or try cutting the onion in a plastic bag with the bottom cut out. Some people also experience a reduction in the amount of their tears over time. You probably can find one of these methods to work for you.

While I was looking around I found out some other little tidbits of information. There is a web page from the Library of Congress that answers why onions make you cry. From there I found out that zebras can't really be domesticated as a general rule. Excerpts:

They are unpredictable and are known to attack people. To be domesticated, animals must meet certain criteria. For example, they must have a good disposition and should not panic under pressure. Zebras' unpredictable nature and tendency to attack preclude them from being good candidates for domestication.

From this page, I found out that zebras can be bred with horses resulting in a Zorse, or bred with a donkey yielding a Zonkey, or mixed with a pony producing a Zonie. I'm not kidding. See here.