Can You Name All 118

Unless you are a scientist  you probably never used the Periodic Table after High School. It could definitely be one of those things you had to learn but would never use in real life. No one doubts that without elements we would no longer exist or at least as life as we know it. But seriously, have you ever consulted the periodic table since you were introduced to it in High School?

Well allow me to walk you down memory lane as we celebrate the National Periodic Table Day this Thursday. Every year since 2016 (I know not really as old as the elements) February 7th has been the day to get your nerd on and think back to a time when you weren't sure you were going to pass chemistry. Memorizing the Periodic table was no easy feat. I actually don't even recalled if I memorized it but I am going to go with probably not. It should have been similar to a game of Concentration but I am going to guess I did my best and got a "D".

The thing I still find fascinating about the table of elements is how hard it was to actually come up with a table at all. The National Days folks give you a brief overview of the time line but in short, elements had been identified by the 1st century A.D. and by 1809 there were 47 known elements. And since then the table has been rearranged for numerous reason. To date there are now 118 elements.

So on Thursday if you are feeling nostalgic and want to refresh your memory visit periodictableday.org. See how many elements you can recall and share your results on social media with #PeriodicTableDay.