Genetics And Science

One of the periodic table elements should be “rabbit hole” because I always seem to go down one when I’m doing research. This article is particularly weird because I’m going to lead you through the workings of my mind for Copper (Cu) from the Latin cuprum, atomic number 29 and one of only a few metals that occur on earth in a usable metallic form (1). There’s a line in Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols (1974) that I decided to use as the base for this essay on copper: “What are pennies made out of?…Dirty copper!” which is directed at Kyril Montana, an undercover …

Zinc (Zn) is a German word derived from the Persian word “sing”, which means stone. Isn’t that lovely? And while it was officially discovered as an element in 1746, Greeks and Romans have known about it for a couple thousand years (1). A silvery-white metal, Zn tarnishes to a pretty blueish tinge. It’s fairly abundant, making up 0.004% of the earth’s crust, and Zn is primarily used to galvanize other metals so they don’t rust. That means zinc-galvanized stuff—like the metal in cars, buildings, ships—lasts for generations (2). Super-duper. Wonderful. What the heck is galvanize? The American Galvanizers Association has ALL the answers. There’s even a movie (3). Galvanizing is literally dipping …

In 79 A.D., a catastrophic volcanic eruption rained ash, rocks, and death down on Roman cities in southern Italy. Pyroclastic flows, superheated gaseous clouds measuring 700°C (1300°F) swept down the sides of Mt. Vesuvius (1), vaporized everything in their paths, including the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and every living creature inhabiting them and the surrounding countryside. This area of Italy is where my people are from. In fact, right next to the region of Campania, where Mt. Vesuvius rests, is Basilicata and its capitol city, Potenza. One day, I think I’ll go there and become their queen. Paesano! This …