Scatter Brained

07 
Periodically Speaking:
Highlights from the Periodic Table
ALUMINUM (AL)
According to legend, the goldsmith who fi rst refi ned bauxite 
into aluminum hammered a dinner plate out of the stuff  and 
presented it to the Roman em-
peror Tiberius. Concerned that 
proliferation of this shiny new 
metal would render his vast 
storehouse  of  gold  and  silver 
worthless, Tiberius had the 
goldsmith beheaded.
SULFUR (S)
Called “brimstone” through-
out English translations of 
the Bible, sulfur may be the 
only element that keeps peni-
tent Christians up at night: In 
Genesis it rains down on the 
naughty denizens of Sodom 
and Gomorrah, killing them; 
and Revelations describes hell 
as being both hot (from all the 
fi re) as well as stinky (from all 
the sulfur). But sulfur keeps 
secular folk up at night, too—
its release into the atmosphere 
by petrochemical plants is a 
leading cause of acid rain.
Murder Was 
the Case: