“Begin here by setting the Table: /
Collection of hist’ry, trends, labels. /
On chem walls by way of /
One D. Mendeleev: /
As theme, it’s a STEM-poem staple.”
The second April 2025 limerick heralded another traditional early-April topic for me: in this case, the Periodic Table of the Elements (PTE).
“Begin here by setting the Table: /
Collection of hist’ry, trends, labels…”
The PTE compiles a wealth of information on the history of chemistry, periodic trends, and elemental labels.
I’ve used the adjective “table-set” in a different attempt at the NaPoWriMo routine, but this was the first time I’d used the idiom of “setting the table,” which I appreciated for its connection to beginnings, early in April. The capital T demonstrated that I meant the most famous of tables, in terms of how a chemist would generally see it!
“On chem walls by way of /
One D. Mendeleev…”
Most science classrooms display the PTE: i.e., it’s generally found “on chem walls.” While its full story is complex and fascinating, the most direct precursor to our modern version of the PTE was published by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. (Given that I’ve written about his story multiple times, it was fun in this limerick to look for new rhyme opportunities and to find one with his last name.)
“As theme, it’s a STEM-poem staple.”
This is a common theme for an early-April limerick for me, across multiple NaPoWriMo routines; thus, it is a “STEM-poem staple.”
***
Many legends around the PTE’s initial construction have emerged; one that I find striking is that Mendeleev was a card player, who enjoyed a game called Patience, similar to Solitaire. The PTE’s ability to organize information in two dimensions (atomic mass and elemental properties, given Mendeleev’s original rationale; refined slightly in our current understanding) mirrors the way that these card games organize information according to two dimensions (suit and number). This aspect of the story gave rise to the title for this post.
Chemphasis 