Tales of Love and Madness from the Periodic Table

<p>Did you know that Gandhi hated iodine? Or that Silicon Valley was almost called Germanium Valley? Our producer <a href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/rigoberto-hernandez" target="_self" data-cke-saved-href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/rigoberto-hernandez">Rigoberto Hernandez</a> talked about these stories and more with <a href= "https://samkean.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://samkean.com/">Sam Kean,</a> author of <em>The Disappearing Spoon</em>, a book about the stories behind the periodic table. The New York Times best-selling author and regular Distillations magazine contributor described how Dmitri Mendeleev’s publisher accidentally shaped the periodic table, why gallium is a popular element for pranksters, and what inspired the title of his book.</p> <p>Kean, Sam. <em>The Disappearing Spoon</em>. New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2010.</p> <h2>Credits</h2> <p>Host: <a href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/elisabeth-berry-drago" data-cke-saved-href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/elisabeth-berry-drago">Elisabeth Berry Drago</a> & <a href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/alexis-j-pedrick" target= "_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/alexis-j-pedrick">Alexis Pedrick</a><br /> Senior Producer: <a href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/mariel-carr" data-cke-saved-href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/mariel-carr">Mariel Carr</a><br /> Producer: <a href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/rigoberto-hernandez" data-cke-saved-href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/rigoberto-hernandez">Rigoberto Hernandez</a><br /> Audio Engineer: <a href="https://www.podbrain.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href= "https://www.podbrain.org/">Jonathan Pfeffer</a><br /> Original music by <a href="https://www.podbrain.org/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href= "https://www.podbrain.org/">Jonathan Pfeffer</a></p>