Element of the Week: Barium

This week, I had a tryst with Barium. Yes friends -- intimate, fast, furious. Unforgettable in fact. I’ll bet you want details butt (did I spell that with two Ts? huh) suffice it to say that my new friend Barium raised the boring specter of a college chemistry class I took while in high school. I couldn't help but think how that snoozer of a class would've ranked memorably high with me and my fellow students had our professor handled the introduction of elements just a tad differently: "Ba, class, stands for Barium which in 30 or so years some of you may experience being shot up your hiney at high pressure while a small pack of medical people ogle, prod and x-ray you. Barium. Atomic number 56.”