83: The Most Boring Element & Solving Shakespeare's Accent
Apr 24, 2025
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Delve into the surprisingly intriguing world of protactinium, often labeled the most boring element. Discover its unexpected role in ocean currents and climate change while humorously redefining what 'boring' really means. Shift gears to explore the enigma of Shakespeare's accent, unraveling historical nuances and regional dialects. The hosts compare American and British pronunciations, shedding light on how accents have evolved over time. It's a delightful blend of science, literature, and a dash of linguistic fun!
The discussion on the most boring element reveals underlying layers of scientific significance, particularly focusing on protactinium's role in paleoclimatology.
The podcast emphasizes the subjective nature of what constitutes boring elements, highlighting unique stories that reshape perceptions of chemistry.
Exploring Shakespeare's accent through linguistic evolution illustrates how language changes significantly over time and shapes modern interpretations of his works.
Deep dives
De-Extinction Breakthroughs
The podcast introduces exciting advancements in de-extinction science, highlighting efforts by Colossal Biosciences to resurrect species like the dire wolf and woolly mammoth. The discussions reveal that these endeavors are rooted in legitimate scientific practices and have garnered widespread attention in the media. The hosts also reference prior discussions about the de-extinction of the dodo, emphasizing that the moral and ethical considerations remain consistent across different species. The narrative showcases both the promise and ongoing debates surrounding the implications of bringing extinct species back to life.
Defining Boring Elements
The conversation shifts to the exploration of what qualifies as the 'most boring element' in the periodic table, stirring curiosity about the criteria for such an assessment. The hosts propose various metrics such as reactivity, stability, and discoverability to gauge the excitement surrounding different elements. This leads to a collective realization that many elements, often dismissed as uninteresting, hold unique stories and historical significance which merit appreciation. Through playful banter, the hosts aim to determine if any element can truly be considered boring, given their inherent uniqueness.
Searching for the Most Boring Element
Tom embarks on a quest to identify the most boring element, employing various data sources including Wikipedia view counts to gauge public interest. This quantitative analysis reveals that while common elements like oxygen attract high search volume due to academic curiosity, lesser-known elements like borium surface as contenders for the title of most boring. Community discussions prompt laughter as the hosts delve into the hidden stories, naming conflicts, and scientific discovery behind these elements, stressing that even the seemingly mundane can be interesting with the right narrative. Their analysis highlights the beauty of chemistry and how each element contributes to our understanding of the material world.
Finding Interest in Protactinium
Protactinium emerges as a focal point in the quest for the most boring element, with the hosts humorously recounting its lack of practical applications and historical obscurity. They discuss how despite its classification as the 'most boring,' the element plays a crucial role in scientific research, particularly in paleoclimatology. The extensive historical context of protactinium's discovery is explored, including the significant work by prominent scientists, making it surprisingly relevant in modern studies. This illustrates that boredom in science often masks layers of complexity and importance yet to be unveiled.
Shakespeare's Sound
Transitioning to the miscellaneous topic, the discussion revolves around the intriguing question of Shakespeare's accent and how he might have sounded while performing. Linguistic analysis suggests that early modern English was characterized by certain pronunciation features like roticity, which aligns more closely with certain American accents today. The hosts navigate perceptions of accents and regional dialects, emphasizing that linguistic preservation can occur in isolated communities. Through playful examples and insights, they seek to rectify misconceptions about Shakespeare's language and highlight the evolution of English accents across time.
The Impact of Time on Language
The podcast delves into the Great Vowel Shift, which dramatically influenced the pronunciation of English words during Shakespeare's era. This shift illustrates how language evolves over centuries, leading to significant differences between early modern English and contemporary usage. By analyzing texts and rhymes, the hosts reveal how understanding these changes can enhance modern interpretations of Shakespeare’s work. The exploration emphasizes the richness and dynamism of language, encouraging listeners to appreciate the interconnectedness of historical dialects with contemporary speech.
What is the most boring element, and just how boring could it possibly be? Turns out: VERY! And how can we decipher what Shakespeare sounded like, and who among us can lay claim to his accent?
Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:52) The Most Boring Element (00:48:53) Solving Shakespeare's Accent (01:26:37) Outro
We’re not going for the easy sappy answer, what makes something boring? all the oxygen stans updating wikipedia, the most boring is obviously bohrium, thulium is used in lasers and x-rays, about 24 grams of astatine per planet, shout out Sir Martin Poliakoff, the 4 elements that came from pitchblende, Caroline stop anthropomorphizing protactinium, the isotope brevium, you could have been called abracadabra and instead your legal name is Actinium’s dad, wow what a fascinating [Rn]5f 26d7s2 ground state electron configuration! give me more random letters and numbers Tom! protactinium is there if your smoke detector is old, the global ocean conveyor belt, THC (Thermal Haline Circulation), that’s the ocean bit- anyway here’s something completely different about protactinium, paleoclimatology sounds a lot like protactinium, Ella realizes the turn, HE DID IT, whoa Caroline doing thumbs up to climate change, they’re de-extincting William Shakespeare, where better to waste my time pursuing this than Let’s Learn Everything, shakespeare is typically performed in received pronunciation, wait this is secretly a UK vs US topic! I’m surprised it took you 3 years to figure out we just keep you for your American accent, Americans have vestigial roticity, the universal beauty of two dudes yapping, what a strange elitism to claim to have Elizabethan English, Appalachian claims of shakespearean accents as a way to boost image, if you want to know what people sounded like back then… look at what people wrote about it! more one to one spellings like “philome” for film, we can deduce the accent from rhymes and puns, I loov this topic, Tom’s accent gets miscalibrated, an open midback is really stylish these days, open mid back unrounded vowel, Ella can move your tongue with her mind, I see why this gameshow didn’t make it to television, don’t wast a reem on a droom, the Rorscach test of the Original Pronunciation created by David and Ben Crystal, flecks of every dialect, “it’s a sound that reminds people of the accent of their home, and so they ten to listen more with their heart than their head”, “American English simply isn’t good enough for Shakespeare”, the Sundry Boroughs of New York baby! the language of Shakespeare is dead but alive in English everywhere, Shakespeare was meant to be played for the public - so it should be spoken like the public, Shakespeare's accent belongs to all of us!
