JUNE 27th - Do You Have any More Gum? More Gum. More Gum.

On this day in 1960, Chlorophyll A was synthesized for the first time by Robert Burns Woodward. Supposedly it was a big deal. I’m sure it was, but dissecting exactly how and why it was big deal brings me back to that brief but dark time in my life when I thought about studying organic chemistry. Actually, that never happened. I mean maybe it happened in another dimension or universe where I stumbled upon Woodward’s work as a wee-little tyke and that chance encounter led me to devoting my life to uncovering the vast mysteries that science holds. But that didn't happen either. I don’t think. I wouldn't really know if it had, what with it being a separate universe and all. Still doesn't mean that ole RB wasn't a big deal. Of course, in certain circles Pee Wee Herman is a big deal--albeit for two vastly different reasons. Perception shifts, doesn't it? I mean, when somebody says chlorophyll to me I just think of Billy Madison (more like borophyll), which in turn makes me think about the most random part of Billy Madison when they all break out into song and the clown on stilts comes back even though you thought that he was dead, but he actually only had a hemorrhage in his head. What a great movie, by the way. That is only my perception. You may think it is the dumbest thing since green ketchup. You'd be wrong because there is nothing dumber than green ketchup. In any case, you should take a little time out of your day to remember an important event that was a really big deal even though I can't really explain why. If Thomas Jefferson was around, I'd ask him to do explain it. He would probably tell me that I was an idiot and that chlorophyll is one of the most important chemicals in existence as it is capable of transforming the energy of the sun into chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis and that synthesizing that chemical was a monumental breakthrough in the world of organic chemistry. And I'd be all, “That’s pretty impressive, right TJ?” But he'd have seen through my little ruse. Because he’s Thomas Jefferson, and you have to do more than just figure out a way to synthesize a chemical building block to impress him. Making yourself invisible might do the trick. But I doubt it.

This day has been Marked.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AUGUST 22nd - Don't Drink the Kool-Aid

On this day in 1911, somebody working at the Louvre discovered that the Mona Lisa was missing. The previous day, a Monday--meaning the museum was closed to the public, Vincenzo Peruggia, a maintenance worker, brazenly walked out of the Louvre with what would eventually become the most famous painting in the world. Vincenzo basically sat on the painting for two years until he was caught trying to “return” it to his homeland of Italy in a misguided demonstration of Italian patriotism. The theft itself is quite interesting, mostly because of the lack of planning and preparation that went into it, but equally intriguing is the part it played in making the Mona Lisa so famous. Many historians feel that the painting reached new heights because it was stolen. It kind of makes sense in that whole “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone" kind of way. Not that I would suggest staging a kidnapping to allow your significant other to realize how much he/she loves you, because that’s jus
Read more

AUGUST 23rd - History of the One-Way

Image
On this day in 1617, the idea of the one-way street was supposedly introduced in London in the alleys near the River Thames. I’m not sure why London was on the cutting edge of traffic direction, though Albemarle Street, which is acknowledged as the first one-way street, was designated as such because the scientific lectures given there in the early 1800s were so popular. Why wouldn't they be? I can’t really imagine why a one-way street in 1617 would be necessary, but then I can’t really imagine what London in 1617 was like at all. I’m fresh out of people to interview too. Unless the Highlander is real. Just as well. Interviews take a long time. And the person inevitably goes off on tangents. Look, I’m sure the story of how you “accidentally” ingested psychedelic mushrooms while trekking across the Pacific Northwest in your hippie days and met your first wife, Wind Lover, is an incredible story, but I merely asked if you were currently married. It’s a yes or no question. Without the
Read more

OCTOBER 23rd - A Blink of the Cosmic Eye

On this day in 1977, American paleontologist, Elso S. Barghoorn, announced the discovery of some algae microfossils, complete with some super-scientific name and some super-scientific qualifiers, that were 3.4 billion years old. In layman’s terms--really freaking old. Interestingly enough October 23 was also thought, for a long time, to be the day on which the Earth was created. In 1650, church leaders interpreted that the bible documents Earth’s creation on October 23, 4004 BC. Also a long time ago. Not quite the 3.4 billion years of the first life-forms, or the 4.5 billion years most scientist believe the Earth has been around for. So old Barghoorn may have been giving a little nod there, as in “I’ll take your 5700 years and raise you a few billion.” In any case, it shows that we are here but for a blink of the cosmic eye. Stuff has been around so long that if you really start to think about it, you start feeling like you are watching first 30 minutes of The Tree of Life and wonderi
Read more