Mental Floss 2017-01-23T23:13:03+00:00 2009-09-10T14:56:35+00:00 2013-06-26T12:47:42+00:00 8 Odd Periodic Tables (and then lots more) Miss Cellania

People love the Periodic Table of Elements, as long as they don't have to deal with the actual chemistry. The design of the table can be used to classify, or just illustrate, all sorts of groups.

1. Elephants


2. Chuck Norris


Crazy Dog T-shirts offers an alternate look at periodic tables. This t-shirt says "Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table because he only recognizes the element of surprise."

3. Look Around You


Here's a periodic table from the BBC series Look Around You. Only the right section is shown here. At first glance, it's pretty straightforward, with the elements helium, neon, argon, et cetera... but then you look closely and see podium, Christmas, and goo. In the other sections, you'll find goofinium, wax, business, Toronto, jazz, and a few more head scratchers among the real elements.

4. Rejected Elements


Along the same lines as the above table, the Periodic Table of Rejected Elements contains names of things that sound like they should be elements, but aren't. Examples include antipathy, moron, grenadine, and delirium.

5. Interacting Elements


This poster portrays the real elements on a periodic tableÂ  as cartoon characters who interact with each other. There are also chemistry jokes that may cause you to go "look it up" to understand the humor. Click on the image here to read the full-size version.

6. Game Controllers



7. Mixology



8. Social Media Elements


Rick Liebling created this Periodic Table of Social Media Elements. While it isn't meant to be humorous, there's some insight here. The elements are people who use social media (with links) and practices that make the experience more useful. The linked post has a key to who or what all the elements are, and you can see the full-size version here.

More Tables

I also found a poster that has the Periodic Table of Vulgarity, but I'm not posting a picture because it's vulgar. I hope you understand.




September 10, 2009 - 6:56am