Sunday, February 5, 2023

Flopcast 561: Did Somebody Say Xenon?

We're taking a break from our Weird Al game, because it's time to review this year's list of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Kate Bush is back on the list, perhaps due to her Stranger Things-fueled resurgence. A couple of Kornflake's favorites are newly eligible nominees: Missy Elliott and the White Stripes. Since Dolly kicked in the door last year, another country legend is in the running this year: Willie Nelson. And a couple of our 80s pop heroes, Cyndi Lauper and George Michael, have finally been nominated. We break it all down for you, despite being furious about the continued snubbing of Right Said Fred. Also, for you science nerds: Kornflake has a trivia question about the periodic table of elements, and is searching the night sky for a mysterious green comet. We assume it was sent from the planet Oa by the Guardians of the Universe.

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Show Notes

Kevin happens to be married to a chemistry nerd, and she knows that the letter Q does appear in the Periodic Table...but only sometimes. When a new element is first recognized, it gets a systematic name and symbol derived from the atomic number. Once its existence is confirmed, an official name and symbol must be approved by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). For example, Element 104 was temporarily called Unnilquadium, with the symbol Unq. It's now Rutherfordium, Rf, named for British physicist Ernest Rutherford. (If you really want to geek out, you can read about controversies that have arisen when more than one group of scientists claims credit for discovering an element.)

Made with Chemspeller (Tau is an elementary particle)

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If you want an even deeper dive on the 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees, check out Who Cares About the Rock Hall? and read a recent article by co-host Joe Kwaczala on what he considers the worst snubs.

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We'll let Cyndi Lauper have the last word.