I just wonder how many British tabloid readers are going to be turned on to chemistry with the news this week that the Royal Society of Chemistry has decided to associate various celebrities with an appropriate element from the periodic table. They kick off by labelling Rebekah Wade Editor of infamous red-top The Sun with bromine and her partner soap star Ross Kemp with caesium. An RSC “scientist” is reported as saying that life is all about chemistry and recent violent reactions between Wade and Kemp could be down to the explosive chemistry between them.
Other “stars” elementalised by the RSC press office at the beginning of Chemistry Week include:
Jordan � Silicon, Mick Jagger� Neon, Wayne Rooney � Sulfur, Tim Henman � Boron, Anne Robinson � Chlorine, George Galloway � Mercury, Colin Montgomery � Beryllium, Steve Redgrave � Gold, Bruce Forsyth � Helium, Ken Livingston � Palladium, Russell Crowe- Iron, Jose Mourinho � Arsenic, Jane Goody � Lead, Thierry Henry � Silver, Anne Robinson – Promethium, Andrew Flintoff � Iridium, Roy Keane � Krypton
For some reason quizmistress Anne Robinson gets two mentions and they spell sulfur incorrectly using the old “ph” version despite a ten-year RSC/IUPAC ruling that it should be spelled with an “f” these days.
Drop me a line or leave a comment, if you cannot work out why a particular celeb gets assigned a certain element, although most are “obvious” (to tabloid readers, at least).