Praseodymium

This post makes it official: We are halfway through the periodic table! I guess this is when I should start planning the name of posts after the elements have run out, but I still have 59 posts before I absolutely have to worry ;)

As a look back on the first 59, here are some of my favorites...

Favorite Post: Lithium

Favorite Fun Fact: Manganese
During the 1970s Howard Hughes commissioned a ship the Hughes Glomar Explorer to find manganese nodules (small round lumps) on the ocean floor near Hawaii. However, his real mission with the Glomar Explorer was to raise a sunken ballistic Russian submarine for the CIA. The manganese nodules were simply a ruse for treasure hunters and unfortunately worthless.

Favorite Video: Nitrogen

Fun Fact: The glasses that glass-blowers wear to protect their eyes contain praseodymium, as the element knocks out the bright yellow emission line from sodium that is the bright light emitted from a torch. Instead of seeing the blinding yellow light, glass-blowers see a dull blue glow from the torch and an orange glow from hot glass.