Periodic Table of Death

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 …

Memento Mori. Remember you must die. Memento Mori is a reminder for the living that life is fleeting. It morphed into the practice of remembering the dead using architecture, paintings, photography, even jewelry featuring symbols of death, or locks of hair elaborately woven into brooches, bracelets, and rings—mourning art (1).  The Victorians probably did it best, photographing their dead loved ones in artificial poses, standing up, playing with their favorite toys, or together with their live brothers and sisters—quite creepy (2). The symbolism and art of memento mori are still around, for example, in the Día de los Muertos—Day of …

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of the Hindenburg disaster. You know, where the largest dirigible ever built, the pride of Nazi Germany and filled with the lighter than air hydrogen (H) gas, burst into flame attempting to land on its transatlantic voyage to the United States? The one that killed 36 passengers and crew? Put your hand down and gather ‘round, because I want to tell you a story about one of the crew members who perished. The only one who was actually on the ground. So let’s travel back to Lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6th, 1937 (1). …

Lithium, Social Engineering, and the Periodic Table of DEATH & Mystery Lithium (Li) is a relatively rare element on Earth, present in virtually all rocks—lithos is Greek for stone, after all. It’s been used by the medical community since around the late 1940s to prevent and treat mental health issues like mania, bipolar disorders, and impulse control problems (1, 2). But its calming effect on the brain has been known since antiquity. Water from Georgia’s Lithia Springs was used medicinally for centuries by Native Americans (3), and did you know the soda pop 7-Up was originally formulated with lithium citrate …

Silver (Ag) bullets, French Werewolves, and the Periodic table of Death. That April day in 1764 Gévaudan, France, was one where winds swept mares tail clouds through a powder blue sky. The girl in the field—for she was only 15—hummed and dreamed as she ambled through her milch-cows, oblivious of the beast that stalked her in the dense copse of trees. But the two bulls in the herd knew caught its scent. When the reddish-gray beast leapt for the girl’s throat, they charged it, protecting their harem and the shrieking teen (1). Hysterical, she relayed to the villagers the beast’s …