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Monday, May 22, 2006

SPOTLIGHT ON YTTERBIUM

The Periodic Table and You: vol. 70

Ytterbium, that little known metal is most remarkable for being the only word in any language that starts with the letters ytt. Don't make the common mistake and confuse it with it's cousin ytrrium. A good friend of mine at the McGill University Department of Metallurgy once did this and let's just say that, as his kids were fully grown, he had no real use for his testes anyways.

Today ytterbium is used widely by the cosmetics industry after it was shown to cause such violent and powerful contractions in rabbits that they would actually turn completely inside out while still alive. This facilitated a number of product tests and experiments and surprisingly, clean up was a snap!

FUN FACT Without ytterbium in the food chain we'd all be the size of game hens.

ANAGRAM-MAGIC re-arrange the letters in these words to spell a little known element: "I'm buttery" (answer next week)

If you want to share any of your experiences with or thoughts about today's featured element please feel free to comment.

2 comments:

slapper58 said...

Nice try Tinker.....any amateur metallophile worth his mineral salts would have known that
ytterbium, like other lanthanoids should be kept in closed containers to protect it from air and moisture. What do you REALLY want from me?

slapper58 said...

Loneliness is just a state of mind Grant. Try joining a church group, a social club or even seeking out the company of whores. You'll get out of your funk in no time!