Is there a good word for the thing people think they're referring to when they say "chemicals"?
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As long as there is not a good answer to this question, STOP SAYING "EVERYTHING IS CHEMICALS" SO SMUGLY.
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artificial flavoring and colors maybe
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things your teacher would yell at you to be careful with in chemistry clas
It's highly contextual, I think. "Turkish police put [corrosive] chemicals in the water cannon" vs "chemicals in our food."
"full of chemicals" = "optimized for just about everything EXCEPT nutrition"
for food, maybe "additives"? non-food uses of the term mostly deserve a snide "everything is chemicals" in my experience






