So, I was reading a book called Alchemy: Ancient and Modern, written in 1911 by Herbert Stanley Redgrove, when I came across this passage:
Attempts to prepare chemical compounds of the emanation have failed, and in this respect it resembles the rare gases of the atmosphere—helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon—whence it is probable that its molecules are monatomic, so that a density of 100 would give its atomic weight as 200.
Now, bear with me, dear reader, I barely passed chemistry in all grades, and only because I’m really good at tests. I promptly forgot everything I “learned” from every class. So this particular passage caught me by surprise because I didn’t know krypton was something native to Earth.
I honestly thought that they made it up for the Superman comics. I mean, it sounds fictional. But then again, so does xenon, right? And if there’s krypton in the atmosphere, why isn’t it affecting Superman? I guess the writers figured most people were like me and didn’t know it was there. Ha!
Learn something new every day, I guess.
Oh, you might wonder why I was reading that book. Don’t worry, y’all. I’m not trying to learn how to turn lead into gold or discover the secrets of the universe. I’ve got an idea for a book, and it’s for research. I’ll probably talk a lot about old books here. Right now, I’m slogging my way through Discoverie of Witchcraft. Both are available free online. I love modern technology and old books. ^_^
Thanks for reading. Take care of yourself and I’ll chat at you later.
