On 114th Anniversary of Turning Point in Chemistry, CEI Unveils Politically Correct Periodic Table
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Jody Clarke, 202.331.2252
Sam Kazman, 202.331.2265
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., June 2, 2003—One hundred and fourteen years after a turning point in the development of the periodic table, CEI is unveiling a politically correct version, available online.
On June 4, 1889, the Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev was scheduled to present a groundbreaking lecture before the British Chemical Society in London. The topic of his lecture, “The Periodic Law of the Chemical Elements,” was a description of his theory for organizing the known chemical elements and for predicting a number of yet to be discovered elements. Unfortunately, days before the event, Mendeleev had to return to Russia when his young son fell ill. The president of the society delivered a translation of his lecture, and Mendeleev was awarded its prestigious Michael Faraday Medal.
CEI’s Politically Correct Periodic Table of the Elements, available as a mousepad, highlights over a dozen elements that have been the subject of scaremongering or porkbarreling, such as chlorine (“blamed for everything from falling sperm counts to five-legged frogs”), hydrogen (“tomorrow’s fuel, financed by today’s taxes”), and francium (“soon to be renamed freedomium”). It is guaranteed not to bring back bad memories of high school chemistry.
The anniversary of Mendeleev’s lecture has received little public notice in recent decades, but CEI hopes that, with the release of its mousepad, the quartudecicentennial date (the 114th anniversary) will fare somewhat better. Still unresolved, however, is the question of whether Mendeleev used a mousepad or a trackball.
To order CEI's Politically Correct Periodic Table of the Elements mousepad, please click on “Shop @ CEI.”
CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government.