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Mnemonic for the Symbolsof the First 1 5 Chemical Elements

Elementary

H. Heli Bebcnof: Nena, m'gal, sips Clark cas da ra) ti. . VCR Mnfe. Co., Nicuzn-Gage.. As sebr krr'bsry z'rnb,

Motcru rh'p'd aged in Sn'sb', Teixecs, halacepr'nd p'ms'm.. Eu , G'dth'dy, ho'e'r, t 'myb'luhf, tawre a i r ptauhg T'l 'phbi

poet.

R'nPr raacth

Paunp pu amc'm

B'kcfesfmmd? No

L'rrE "Ha "

I take i t tha t the scientific world is

as

ready now as it will ever he, for this magnificent mnemonic for th e symbols of th e

chemical elements, from I hydrogen to I05 hahnium. I t appears to be the remembrance--of things heard or things

dreamed,

or

both?--of a drowsy TV listener, when he awoke from his nap.

Th e first two parts m ust be from commercial messages, hear

as

it is

to

believe that the great Dr. Behcnof has now

rented his n ame to help the Clark Co mpany sell its cascara tea (the medicinal hark ofRhornnus purshiann .

It is not obvious that the next two sentences were heard together. Was Motcru one of the T'l 'pbbi poets? Did

something abo ut Snisby, Teixecs, disagree with him? Or did h e grow old before his time because he co uldn't lay off of the

p'ms'm? From th e context, I gather tha t "z'rnb" means "knows", b ut "krr'bsry" has me stumped. Could I be one myself?

Well, I must try no t to let it b'kcfesfm me.

"Ptauhg" appears to be a synonym for "sehr", and lends itself to a more drama tic declamation. If Goodbuddy wrote

the four great lines of inspiringpoetry, th en he certainly towers over ptau hg T'l 'pbbi poet. Indeed, great new poetry being

so

rare in this unpoetic age, I should point out that the mnemonic c n also be used in reverse. Even a krr'bsry, by

memorizing the symbols of t he eleme nts from radon through hahnium, can always call to mind th e stirring lines:

R'nfr raacth

Paunp pu amc'm

B'kcfesfmmd? No

L'rrf: "Ha?'

Acknowledgment I learned hydrogen through sulfur from my organic chemistry professor at Texas A M in 1956.

Vanadium through ruthen ium by Jo hn S. Hooper of Athens, WV, 1988

Literature Cited None.

Wlnton Covev

Concord College

Athens WV 24712

Volume 65 Number

2

December

1988

1089