1 hour ago, Bill W said:

Tantalum is a metallic element that was discovered in 1802 by Anders Gustaf Ekeberg.  He named the element after the mythological character Tantalos, the king of Phrygia and the father of Niobe.  Tantalos was punished by the Greek gods to stand in knee deep water and suffer from eternal hunger and thirst, even though he was surrounded by fruit and water.  The story of Tantalos is also the origin of the word tantalize.  

He named it this because he found its resistance to reactive acids a tantalizing problem.

Interestingly, it will dissolve in hydrofluoric acid. This is what Walter White used in Breaking Bad to dispose of bodies. Don't try it at home. A.) It won't reliably dissolve all organic material. B.) It's a toxic, contact poison. The fumes would be absorbed by the skin using the inadequate protection shown on the series.

4 hours ago, drpaladin said:

He named it this because he found its resistance to reactive acids a tantalizing problem.

Not sure of the intent, but this had me chuckling.