Time to celebrate the International Year of the Periodic Table (also fondly known as IYPT2019).
The celebration includes a new Periodic Table showing the 90 natural elements that make up EVERYTHING-- created by the European Chemical Society (EuroChemS) to warn us about depleting these natural elements (element scarcity).
"Unless solutions are provided, we risk seeing many of the natural elements that make up the world around us run out – whether because of limited supplies, their location in conflict areas, or our incapacity to fully recycle them."
And "smartphones" seem to be the Number One culprit called out by our European chemists.
They are highlighted on the new table with "Call me, please" mobile phone icons on 30 of these celebrity elements. (It's only us and the kids and their parents with their darn helium balloons that get such a shout-out.)
2019 is the 150th anniversary of the periodic table, conceived in 1869 by the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev.
The world's oldest known classroom version of the periodic table (1885) was just discovered in Scotland-- found in a cluttered storeroom (probably stored there originally because it was only being used, you know, periodically. LOL).
Just to prove our chemical colleagues are not all "doom and gloom," EuroChemS also unveiled a video game, “Elemental Escapades!”
Yes, that exclamation point is theirs, part of their game's name-- and it would seem to represent an excitable element in their organic word compound.
Which may prove-- despite the seriousness of exhausting our natural elements-- we're still allowed to laugh a little bit at ourselves.
Humor is the 91st natural element and is also growing scarcer these days.
