29 May 2016

The Man Who Put the Pee in Phosphorus


How do you become one of the first people to discover a chemical element? By hoarding urine, that’s how. Seriously?  Back in the 1660's, German alchemist Hennig Bran thought he could create gold by distilling the stuff – in his search for the philosopher’s stone.  That didn’t work out but this great animation by Great Big Story shows how he did something far more useful instead.  So, even if he didn’t discover the philosopher’s stone at least his work didn’t go entirely down the toilet…