The Disappearing Spoon

I’d never thought of the periodic table as a set of characters. Kean made me laugh and savor the tricks they play. Tellurium can make us smell like garlic for weeks. Titanium fools the body into thinking it’s not a foreign substance, which makes it ideal for implantable prosthetics.

The book tells the story of how a cast of engineers, scientists, and inventors discovered how elements behave and, in doing so, shaped the modern world. Fascinating science and facts, delivered by a parade of engrossing stories.

I discovered The Disappearing Spoon while googling “scientific experiment for kids.”

The book’s title refers to gallium (Ga, 31), a metal which has a melting point of 84 degrees Fahrenheit and thus, melts in hot water. According to the book, a fun, practical joke among leading "chemical cognoscenti" is to shape gallium into spoons, "serve them with tea, and watch as your guests recoil when their Earl Grey eat their utensils."

After viewing videos of these melting spoons on YouTube I bought The Disappearing Spoon to learn what other surprising facts were hidden in the periodic table. One of… show more.

A collection of some of science’s greatest stories, Sam Kean’s books are always a fascinating grab-bag of tales that show the wonderful, creative, messy world of how science operates. The spoon in question refers to gallium – a metal with a melting point so low that if you put a spoon of it in a cup of coffee, it would vanish before your eyes. A must-read for anyone who wants a few good science facts to amaze their friends.