Chemistry is hard enough to understand. But this already-convoluted field of science can be even worse because of some stuff that defies logic. Here are five examples.
chemical names
It's not all that uncommon for a chemical to be named after the place where it was discovered or even after the chemist who discovered it. But when this is applied to geology the results can be...amusing, or (better still), tasteless.
Nomenclature -- the "art" of naming organic chemicals -- is crazy making. Some chemical names are simple. Some are complex. What's more, saying the names of some chemicals makes you sound like a fourth grader. (And if that's not enough of a pull to get you to read this, there's a contest, too!)