Named after Dmitry Mendeleyev, (the inventor of the periodic table) the Mendy is the most prestigious and only prize available to the elements. As such we are subject to the perennial PR campaigns with different elemental camps placing ads in such august publications as the journal Science and the industry paper The Chemical Times.
This year saw Ytterbium take an early and seemingly insurmountable lead only to have
victory snatched away at the last minute by the improbable winner: POLONIUM.Last night's star studded ceremony was hosted by actor and raconteur John Ratzenberger, better known as the beloved postman Cliff Clavin from TV's Cheers. He presided over a fast paced evening that featured a lifetime achievement award to Carbon (or "the big C" as it's affectionately known) and a touching tribute to Mercury, a once popular element that has fallen on hard times since the introduction of the digital thermometer. Another of the evening's highlight featured Dr. Randolph Guthbertson, Dean of Chemical Sciences at Wesleyan University, who brought the house down with his whimsical take on the discovery of Thalium.
The murder by polonium poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, Russian ex-pat and outspoken critic of the Putin regime, helped put the media focus on this year's winner. The press and public alike took immediately to the story that has all the earmarks of a John LeCarre spy thriller.
Polonium was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898 and is in fact the only element named to highlight a political controversy, namely the partition and non-independence of Poland, Marie's native land. Pound for pound it's around 5 million times more toxic than cyanide and yet has remained a little known square on the periodic table until just a few weeks ago. Despite it's high toxicity it was used (until 1982) to extend the shelf life of fruit juices and certain dairy products.
1 comment:
Another interesting question Dixxx. You are a regular contributor and are probably quite busy these days so I understand why you had to tackle 3 of my posts in one succinct comment. Efficient yes but I should warn others out there that this should not be used as an excuse for your own slothfulness. I'd like to see a one to one post to comment ratio (OK... 2 at the most). Let's be fair people!
Now...your question....Drugging your guests, especially during the holidays, is a tricky proposition. For starters I'd go with rohypnol (the date rape drug)but only if you have a really cute second cousin or sister-in-law. If that's not your cup of(spiked)tea and you just want a mildly sedated group you should do what my people do...serve latkes!!
Latkes are a Hannukah staple and are usually poorly made but can be sublime when well done. Ideally they should be thin potato pancakes fried to a golden brown with a crisp edge and fluffy white interior and served with apple sauce and sour cream...don't serve these! What YOU want are the run of the mill, hockey puck sized slabs of rubbery potato puree, uncooked in the middle and swimming in a sea of oil.(it's as though people forget that the miracle of Hannukah is that a LITTLE oil went a LONG way) One or two of these babies will knock the holiday cheer out of even the most exuberant and annoying uncle. To make bad latkes just take any standard recipe and screw it up. Have a great party!!
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