Learning the names of the elements isn’t easy – heck, pronouncing them isn’t always easy (Molybdenum, anyone??) but chemistry students around the world are still tasked with memorizing at least a handful of elements on the table. When I was in Mr. Odger’s 10th grade chemistry class at Keene High School, we were asked to memorize the first 20 – and thanks to a mnemonic device I came up at the time, I can still remember 15 of them.
Ununoctium? Ytterbium? If you're wondering where all these strange names came from, check out our interview with Joe Hanson of It's Okay To Be Smart, or watch his awesome video: