# Tom Lehrer's "Elements" for the 21st century **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557 "2012-09-13T00:34:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/1 "2012-09-13T00:34:09Z")
The other day I looked up Tom Lehrer’s song [The Elements](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYW50F42ss8) on YouTube and discovered it’s more than 50 years old. Since it was written, there have been a further 16 artifical elements created, with two [new names](http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/01/science/la-sci-sn-heavy-elements-20120601) approved just this summer. With that in mind, I present a few new verses to be appended to the original: \*Since Tom wrote his song they’ve only gone and found lots more of 'em Like hassium and dubnium, lawrencium, livermorium. You might’ve thought those chemists ought by now to be quite boredium But then they looked in earnest and discovered rutherfordium. Now wait, there’s more, another four you probably won’t knowvium Darmstadtium, roentgenium, copernicum, flerovium. And bohrium, which came before the turn of the millennium, Seaborgium, meitnerium (once known as unnilennium). It seems the brains are out of names, suggestions should be sentium For what we see as Uup is merely “ununpentium”. And then there’s ununseptium, add one for ununoctium, At 113 comes Uut – and that should be the lottium. Though actually it seems to me there’s no end to my mission: You can’t keep lists when scientists won’t stop their nuclear fission :p\* ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/2 "2012-09-13T01:15:20Z")
And there may be many more, but they haven’t been discarvard. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/3 "2012-09-13T02:49:51Z")
Let’s not forget sci-fiction where we look for unobtanium At least I think that word is stuck somewhere inside my cranium. Wolverine is known for his sharp claws of adamantium And Farnsworth’s bolonium, bolognium or more than likely baloneyium! ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/4 "2012-09-13T03:05:06Z")
Daniel Radcliff sang the original song, so it’s still a qualified hit. OTOH, my favorite Lehrer song is Werner von Braun. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/5 "2012-09-13T12:15:39Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > And there may be many more, but they haven’t been [del]discarvard.[/del] _There might have been a whole lot more if only we had waited. Several more will be along soon, but they’ve not yet been created._ Oh, and it’s fusion making these things, not fission. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/6 "2012-09-13T12:48:01Z")
_And if we cannot find any new ones for a while We can always be consoled by the elements of style_ ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/7 "2012-09-13T13:27:44Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > _There might have been a whole lot more if only we had waited. > Several more will be along soon, but they’ve not yet been created._ > > Oh, and it’s fusion making these things, not fission. I knew someone would point that out but it doesn’t rhyme, dammit. 😛 _These elements are increments of Z through clever fusion; but zeptograms ain’t worth a damn 'cos folks could never use 'em_ ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/8 "2012-09-13T17:52:01Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Let’s not forget sci-fiction where we look for unobtanium > At least I think that word is stuck somewhere inside my cranium. > Wolverine is known for his sharp claws of adamantium > And Farnsworth’s bolonium, bolognium or more than likely baloneyium! Dilithium, vibranium, cutetonium ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/9 "2012-09-14T11:01:42Z")
Got an email from my dad a couple of days ago… […] We’ll also be going to a Tom Lehrer tribute concert(!) in Bromley on Friday week. Apparently, when they asked his permission, he said ‘I’ve no objection to you performing my songs, just as long as I don’t have to be there.’ ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/10 "2012-09-14T16:08:06Z")
I still like the Aristotlian version: _Oh there’s Earth, and Air and Fire and Water!_ ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-lehrers-elements-for-the-21st-century/634557/11 "2012-09-14T16:18:29Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > I still like the Aristotlian version: Aristotlium!