There's an exchange in an old Fantastic Four comic book...

... where (I'm deeply paraphrasing here, 'cuz I'm working from decades-old memories) Ben says "Reed here can make a bomb out of a coupla aspirin and a clock radio."

Reed says, "Actually, I'd need a whole bottle of aspirin to synthesize enough explosive to . . ."

Ben groans.

Turns out, aspirin CAN be synthesized into explosive material.

Which makes this story not so much quirky as ominous, especially in a post-9/11 world.