# Your Top 5 Elements from the Periodic Table of Elements? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225 "2014-10-03T00:37:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/1 "2014-10-03T00:37:23Z")
Okay, let me head the obvious off at the pass, no need to vote for Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon, those are givens šŸ˜‰ So, what are your Favorite 5 from the PToE? (Bonus if you actually possess them) My top 5, in no particular order; 5; Mercury - liquid metal at room temperature, highly electrically conductive, just wish it wasnā€™t so toxic, I have a small vial of the stuff, and Iā€™d love to play with it, but that whole absorbed through skin thing is a turn offā€¦ 4; Lead - Iā€™m a recreational/target shooter, good old Pb is a given, I have a lot of fun with this elementā€¦ 3; Uranium - I collect Vaseline Glass items, and Uranium Oxide is what gives them that cool green color and a bright green fluorescence under UV illumination, as long as you donā€™t eat food off it, or ingest the glass itself, VG is safe, yes itā€™s slightly radioactive, but itā€™s an Alpha emitter and most of the Alpha canā€™t even get out of the glass anyway 2; Helium - okay, I admit it, the kid in me has never gotten tired of the whole lighter than air thing, and making voices squeaky never gets oldā€¦ 1; Silicon - how would I be posting this without our good friend, Silicon? So, whatā€™s your Fave Five? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/2 "2014-10-03T01:01:06Z")
Osmium - the densest element. Iā€™d love to have a cube of it (if it didnā€™t release toxins just by sitting there). Radon - a radioactive gas. Whatā€™s not to like? Polonium - A strong alpha emitter, itā€™s probably the most toxic substance on earth. Tungsten - Hard and refractory, itā€™s my namesake. Gold - who doesnā€™t like Gold? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/3 "2014-10-03T01:13:32Z")
Iridium, Palladium, Platinum, Zero and Surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/4 "2014-10-03T01:21:30Z")
Oxygen, because I like to breathe. Neon, because itā€™s pretty when excited. And thorium and thulium and thallium, because the [Elements Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7hO-1ItqXw) wouldnā€™t be as cool without them. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/5 "2014-10-03T01:50:25Z")
[Interactive PeriodicTable.](http://www.ptable.com/) I donā€™t have a top 5 but Gallium is cool for the way it melts in your hand. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/6 "2014-10-03T02:15:13Z")
Fluorine! Itā€™s a killa! Chromium, for auto bumpers and towing hitches. Hydrogen, for making cool fireballs in mid-air. (Hydrogen soap-bubbles and a spark-igniter. whee!) Carbon, for organic chemistry and the incredible number of molecules it can combine into. Polymers: nifty! Sodium: dangerous, but fun to play with if youā€™re mighty careful. Also, table salt: yum. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/7 "2014-10-03T02:18:24Z")
Iā€™m a big fan of oxygen. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/8 "2014-10-03T02:49:59Z")
I have had a bit of a warm spot for gadolinium since I was injected with it for a MRI scan. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/9 "2014-10-03T03:18:41Z")
_Thereā€™s sulphur, californium and fermium, berkelium And also mendelevium, einsteinium and nobelium And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc and rhodium And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, Tungsten, tin and sodium._ Oops, got carried away. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/10 "2014-10-03T03:32:54Z")
1. Silicon. Im a total gadget geek 2. Tungsten. It makes the best darts 3. Hydrogen. Canā€™t have lakes without it. 4. Iron. If everything I owned made of steel was gone Iā€™d be screwed. 5. Copper. I happen to like having electricity. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/11 "2014-10-03T03:39:34Z")
Iā€™m a sucker for density, so Iā€™ll go with osmium, iridium, platinum, gold, and tungsten. The only one I actually have a significant quantity of is tungsten. I have a 50x50 mm cylinder on my dresser. Itā€™s almost 4 lbs. It makes you feel like something is wrong with gravity and momentum. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/12 "2014-10-03T04:07:27Z")
Tungsten. I need tungsten to live. Tungsten! Gallium. Solid at room temperature. Melts at below skin temperature, 85.57 Ā°F. Argon. Dunno, cool lizard person name. Ytterbium. Sounds cool. Unlike that sucka yttrium. Cobalt. The name comes from a D&D monster (well thatā€™s where most know it from). Inferring that etymology made me win pub trivia once, and then get the answer again when the host forgot he already used it. I have a sizable stash of argon in every spot in my house where there is no solid object. Probably no ytterbium. Iā€™ll get around to buying some gallium off Amazon one of these days. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/13 "2014-10-03T04:13:52Z")
Iridium, rhodiumā€“youā€™ll understand in 10 or 15 years šŸ˜‰ carbonā€“kind of important for us carbon based life forms. Plus, graphene batteries sodiumā€“the best of the reactive metals, for many reasons mercuryā€“fun to play with ---
**Author:** ![Lubricious\_Integument](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/14 "2014-10-03T04:31:51Z")
P: phosphorus U: uranium S: sulfur S: sulfur because, sulfur! Y: Yttrium ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/15 "2014-10-03T05:08:19Z")
Iā€™m not going to play as such but can I just say if you are the type of person who finds this thread at all interesting, you absolute have to read ā€œ_The Periodic Table_ā€ by Primo Levi, at the earliest possible opportunity. It was once voted ā€œThe Best Science Book Everā€ and I have no argument with that title. And when you finish that one, start in on ā€œ_Uncle Tungsten_ā€ by Oliver Sacks. Both books are pure geek-porn to anyone with an interest in materials, elements and chemistry, besides being very entertaining and well written. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/16 "2014-10-03T10:08:08Z")
> [@Lubricious\_Integument](#): > > P: phosphorus > U: uranium > S: sulfur > S: sulfur because, sulfur! > Y: Yttrium You might have picked vanadium, silver, iodine, and sodium instead. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/17 "2014-10-03T10:11:12Z")
_Fluorine_ kicks ass. _Chromium_ produces some nice and colourful compounds. _Cobalt_ has a cool name. \*Copper \* has a nice reddish-orange colour. _Phosphorus_ emits a cool glow. Yeah, I like colours. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/18 "2014-10-03T11:06:41Z")
Just because Iā€™m fundamentally lazy Iā€™m going to go with antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium, and hydrogen. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/19 "2014-10-03T11:46:28Z")
Doreen (Dn), Marzipan (Mz), Wax (Wx), Jazz (Jz) and Nothing (Ng) According to the [Periodic Table](http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/lookaroundyou/series1/periodic.shtml) on the BBCā€™s ā€œ[Look Around You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaI6kBVyu00)!ā€ website ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2014, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225/20 "2014-10-03T12:17:21Z")
Bismuth, because of [this](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bismuth&safe=active&client=firefox-a&hs=wV3&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=H5IuVLf7N6yS7AbC0YCgAw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1116&bih=743) Neon, because pretty lights Copper and gold, because amongst all metals, they are pretty Neodymium, because magnets [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-top-5-elements-from-the-periodic-table-of-elements/700225.md?page=2)