Ancient Web: Paul May’s Silly Molecules Gave Chemistry a Punchline

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.

Chemists have names for molecules that sound as though somebody lost a bet. Paul May gathered the best examples, then did the responsible scientific thing: supplied molecular structures and references.

Read Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names.

The University of Bristol page introduces an ever-growing collection assembled with suggestions from readers around the world. May says the list became so large that he divided it into four smaller pages. The project also led to a book, Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names, published by Imperial College Press in July 2008.

Its examples are not all jokes invented by students. Arsole is an arsenic-containing heterocyclic compound, and the page discusses the technical distinction between related terms. Adamantane has a cage structure reminiscent of a diamond lattice, while its relative bastardane acquired a name reflecting its unusual structural rearrangement.

The footnotes are part of the joke

The humor becomes funnier because the site keeps interrupting it with actual chemistry. Cummingtonite is named for Cummington, Massachusetts. Putrescine and cadaverine are compounds associated with decomposition. Moronic acid is a real natural product whose name derives from a tree, not from its intelligence.

Alongside these entries are drawings, linked three-dimensional structures, literature references, and acknowledgments naming the readers who suggested each candidate. Some jokes depend on English pronunciation, some on technical prefixes, and others on chemistry's peculiar habit of preserving historical names.

The page also demonstrates how a web reference grows after publication. It includes newer research citations beside old explanations and even corrections when a molecular name changes. Readers are invited to contribute candidates by email rather than through an automatically updated database.

There is an important distinction between a name being funny and a compound being safe or medically useful. The site is about nomenclature and chemical structures, not health advice or laboratory instructions. Its claims should be checked against current authoritative sources for scientific work.

Another Ancient Web article covers Bristol's wider Molecule of the Month project. This separate gallery is distinct: an intentionally humorous collection that developed a worldwide correspondence with contributors and ultimately a book.

Explore the original list and linked molecular illustrations.

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.