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From: Harshawardhan Nimkhedkar <>
Subject: Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names
Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002 15:09:07 +0100 (BST)


This is an absolutely funny side of science. Quite
priceless. I wonder how people find time to collect
all this stuff.

Snippets From http://welcome.to/the_jim_experience

Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names

Believe it or not, some chemists do have a sense of
humour, and this page is a testament to that. Here
we'll show you some real molecules that have unusual,
ridiculous or downright silly names.

Arsole
Yes, believe it or not, there is actually a molecule
called Arsole... and it's a ring! It is the arsenic
equivalent of pyrrole, and although it is rarely found
in its pure form, it is occasionally seen as a
sidegroup in the form of organic arsolyls. For more
minformation, see the paper with probably the best
title of any scientific paper I've ever come across:
"Studies on the Chemistry of the Arsoles", G. Markl
and H. Hauptmann, J. Organomet. Chem., 248 (1983) 269.
Contrary to popular belief, however, the arsoles are
not aromatic...

Moronic Acid
This is a triterpenoid organic acid that is found in
Pistacia resin, and is therefore of interest to people
studying archaeological relics, shipwrecks and the
contents of ancient Egyptian jars. But why it's called
moronic acid is still unknown... Derivatives of this
are called moronates, as in 'which moron-ate the
contents of this jar?'

Fukalite
This wonderfully named mineral gets its name from the
Fuka mine in the Fuka region of southern Japan. It is
very rare, and is a form of calcium carbonate, with
formula Ca4Si2O6(CO3)(OH,F) 2.


Erotic Acid
No, this isn't the world's best aphrodisiac. Its
correct name is orotic acid, but it has been misspelt
so often in the chemical literature that it is also
known as erotic acid! Another name for it is vitamin
B13. Apparently, if you add another carbon to it, it
becomes homo-erotic acid...

--------

But, it would be better if you visit the site and read
fully; two long pages of it.

-- Harshawardhan
Aug 9 2002





=====
Harshawardhan Nimkhedkar, in Nagpur, India.
Visit the About-Words archives for English-language studies at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/twt
My humour study groups:
blandings for P.G.Wodehouse, and,
TheOtherHumoristsClub for all other humorists
with http://groups.yahoo.com

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