We have been fans of The Big Bang Theory show and still laugh at scenes and gags we know well. One of the nerdy items on the set is a shower curtain with the periodic table printed on it. So we bought one (not the one on the show but another we liked better). We have a running gag ourselves when one of us will yell to the other, "We are out of Osmium!" or some other element. One time I walked in where Linda was and I was gasping for air! I croaked, "We need to buy more Oxygen!" She did fall for it and then laughed. Anyhow, in all my hours of contemplation of the period table, I found some interesting trivia. See how many of these you can answer without consulting your shower curtain. Post your answers in the comments. A link below will have the answers.
Mercury is well known to be liquid at STP (room temperature and pressure). Name the other element that is also liquid at STP.
2. Elements Named for Women
Many newer elements, like Einsteinium, Bohrium, Fermium, were named after famous male physicists. Curium is famously named for Marie Curie. Name the other element that honors a woman physicist.
3. Artificial Elements
All of the elements 93 and higher are artificially made. Name the two elements lower on the table are also only artificially made (not found in nature).
4. Single Letter Element Symbols
With 118 (or more?) elements, only 14 have single letter symbols. The first 9 are well known and are H, B, C, N, O, F, P, S, K. What are the other 5 single letter symbols?
5. Element Name Lengths
What are the shortest and longest names of elements? (Scroll down for hint)
Hint to element name lengths: There are several 4 letter names including Iron, Gold, Lead, Zinc and Neon. There are a few with 12 letter names including Praseodymium and Protactinium.
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