MDBCs 31 Mar 2024

Born on March 31, 1811, Robert Bunsen is thought to be a trailblazer in the field of photochemistry. Photochemistry is a specialized branch of chemistry that looks at the chemical effects of light.

He was also well-known for his work on the chemistry of arsenic, a chemical element that is used for a variety of purposes including preserving wood, but is also toxic to human beings and animals in larger quantities.

How to Celebrate?

Honor your chemistry teachers on this day. Thank them for all the knowledge they have imparted you.
Introduce young adults and children in your life to the joys of chemistry.
Learn more about the life of Robert Bunsen.

Did You Know…

…that Robert Bunsen also discovered cesium and rubidium with Gustav Kirchhoff? Cesium is one of 5 elements that are liquid at room temperature.

***

I was teaching a life-skills class to my high school students one day, and we were discussing the various terms one might encounter in a restaurant. I asked, "What does the phrase 'à la carte' mean?"

"It means," a student said, "you're in the wrong restaurant."

***

When employees of the restaurant where I work attended a fire-safety seminar, we watched a fire official demonstrate the proper way to operate an extinguisher. "Pull the pin like a hand grenade," he explained, "then depress the trigger to release the foam."

Later, an employee was selected to extinguish a controlled fire in the parking lot. In her nervousness, she forgot to pull the pin.

Our instructor hinted, "Like a hand grenade, remember?"

In a burst of confidence, she pulled the pin—and hurled the extinguisher at the blaze.

***

When I bought my new Lexus Sport Coupe, my two sons asked me who would inherit it if I met my demise. I pondered the question, then told them if I passed away on an even day, the son born on an even day would get it. If it happened on an odd day, the one born on the odd day would get it.

A few weekends later, while river rafting with one of my sons, I was tossed out of the boat. As I floated in the rapids, I heard my son yelling, "It's the wrong day!"

***

Going over our weekly training schedule one morning at our small Army garrison, we noticed that our annual trip to the rifle range had been canceled for the second time, but that our semi–annual physical-fitness test was still on as planned.

"Does it bother anyone else," one soldier asked,

"that the Army doesn't seem concerned with how well we can shoot, yet is extremely interested in how fast we can run?"