To 11th graders, it meant mugging up a lot of information that doesn't make sense. To atheists, it is the weapon of choice. To Breaking Bad fans, its the path to the perfect way of cooking meth. Science. My last checked out book was Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of Elements by Hugh Aldersey-Williams. Hugh takes elements from the periodic table and scavenges their history, giving readers a book full of did you know's (in which,for most part, your answer will be "no, I did not.") Talking of cultural significance of the known elements shows how humans have provided a certain character to them. Silver is seen as feminine while gold is seen as masculine. Some scientist randomly waded a mesh through water to make carbonated water. His name was Schweppes.Before it was known that radium was radioactive, there used to be radium spa's and radium cosmetics (yay,capitalism!). Marie Curie and her scientist husband provided great fodder for romance entusiasts who w...
