Neon, Red-Light Districts, and the Periodic Table of Death and Mystery

Is this title deliberately provocative? Maybe. After all, sex sells, hubba-hubba. But we’ll get to that later, after you get a little more information about the periodic table element Neon and meander through its brightly colored world, er, Universe.

But before we do that, let’s first explore the Periodic Law because it had a direct effect on the discovery of Neon. The Periodic Law was proposed independently in 1869 by a Russian Scientist, Dmitri Mendeleev, and a German Scientist, Lothar Meyer (1). Sixty-three of the 118 atomic elements (5) had been discovered but there was confusion about how to categorize them: atomic number or chemical properties. Mendeleev and Meyer basically straightened everything out by stating that when elements are listed by atomic number, chemical properties recur periodically (1). Mendeleev even created a rudimentary table that left open spots for elements that hadn’t yet been isolated. Scientists jumped all over those missing elements and ultimately found Neon hiding in earth’s atmosphere.

Neon (Ne) from the Greek neos, meaning new, was discovered in 1898 by kind-of-a-big-deal Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay, who was on a roll for the co-discovery of the noble gas elements (1), which included argon (argos, Greek for idle or lazy), krypton (kryptos, Greek for hidden), and xenon (xenos, Greek for stranger). He also isolated and described helium (helios, Greek for sun) and radon (found during radioactive decay of radium). Ramsay even received a Nobel Prize (2) for his work on the naturally occurring noble gases. But what’s a noble gas?

Glad you asked because the answer will make you smile—hopefully. The noble gases are in the farthest right-hand column of the periodic table, all naturally occurring except Oganesson (Og), which was first synthesized in 2002 (5). These elements were difficult to isolate and describe because of their relatively stability. Noble gas electron shells are full so they don’t share electrons or easily make compounds with each other or other elements.

They were named “noble gases” because, like the nobility, they are considered snobby, “stand-offish,” and unwilling to interact. Just like the upper crust elites at Ascot in My Fair Lady, 1964 (6), noble gases don’t like to move their bloomin’, uh, derrieres. Okay, not really. But it’s a good story. Actually, “noble gas” is a translation from the German edelgas which means inert gas.

Now, back to Neon

Ne’s atomic number is 10 (protons), and it has an atomic weight of 20.18 (protons + neutrons + electrons). It’s colorless and odorless with a melting point (-415.5°F or -248.6°C) that’s very close to its boiling point (-410.9°F or -246°C). This means it’s a gas and pretty rare on earth. Ne makes up only 0.0018% of the atmosphere (7) but once we step off the planet and into the universe, Ne is the fifth most abundant element (8).

Just one more thing (heh). Scientists in the 1800s developed a way to “look” at elements by measuring the specific wavelengths of light they emitted when heated or excited by electricity (9). When electricity is passed through pure neon in a glass tube, it gives off a very bright and distinct red-orange glow (10). And in 1910, Georges Claude patented the first neon lights, using them in 1912 for the very first neon sign advertising Italian vermouth made by Cinzano, followed right by a sign for the Paris Opera (11). Neon signs sort of blew up from there, and they became the perfect “brand” for the world’s Red Light Districts.

Brilliant Crimson Neon Signs and Red Light Districts

What are Red Light Districts? Areas in a town or city containing brothels and other commercial sex-related businesses. But you’re probably saying to yourself, Red Light Districts predate neon signs because prostitution, “the act or practice of engaging in sexual activity for money or its equivalent,” (12) is considered one of the oldest professions in human history. But, interestingly, not just in humans, which is sort-of mind-blowing. Selling sex has also been observed in chimpanzees (meat for sex—13, 14) and capuchin monkeys (silver token for sex—15). Just wow.

The origin stories for the name “Red Light District” are probably myth. One is that the name was associated with the Dodge City, Kansas, and the Red Light Saloon. Another, also linked with the American West, is that of the red lantern (16) used to signal the brakeman to set the brakes on a train. While trains idled in towns, brakemen would visit the local prostitutes and take the red signal light to hang outside or put in a window so they could be easily located in case of an emergency (17).

But my favorite red light district naming story is associated with oysters. Oysters have a reputation as an aphrodisiac because of a visual similarity to, ahem, female “parts.” They were also (once) cheap and plentiful, and associated with basement dive bars (18) in large cities because ice was usually stored in basements and cellars and raw oysters have a short shelf life. How did owners advertise their oyster dive bars? With red lights on the street, a facsimile of the glowing red of old timey braziers oystermen once used to cook their wares. In the 19^th century, these oyster bars opened after the theaters closed in the evening, and attracted both well-off and working men who’d stay out late to drink and fraternize (19) with the only women who frequented oyster saloons – prostitutes. Thus selling sex became synonymous with red lights.

An interesting origin story that may or may not be true. And since death wasn’t mentioned, let’s just say the red light district naming theory is history shrouded in Periodic-Table-of-Death Mystery.