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GOING APE Bananas provide a great source of potassium--a key mineral for good health. PHOTODISC |
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This would not have struck me as weird if we had both been science majors, but I knew enough about him to make me wonder if he had ever taken a chemistry class. You can imagine my shock and intrigue when I heard the question. I was speechless. I had an affinity for a number of elements, but I hadn't ever really thought about which one element was my favorite.
After some quick thinking, I recall blurting out tin because I was working with organotin halide compounds that summer in the lab. I then became curious to know if he had a favorite element. As it turns out, he did: potassium.
Why potassium, you might ask--well at least I did. It turns out that it's not because of the alkali metal's ability to regulate water balance in the body or its use in fireworks, but simply because he liked bananas, which--as we all know--are full of potassium.
I could appreciate his affection for bananas--after all, they taste great and are good for you. In fact, potassium is an electrolyte mineral essential to maintaining good health. Among its many roles, potassium regulates cellular acid-base and fluid balance, blood pressure, and neuromuscular function.
Potassium deficiency is rare in people who eat a balanced diet because adequate levels of the mineral are found in a variety of foods. For example, meats, poultry, and fish are high in K, as are bananas, potatoes, milk, and orange juice. Carrots, grapefruit, and onions all contain moderate levels of K, while foods such as blueberries, cucumbers, and iceberg lettuce all have low K levels.
But I digress. There is no doubt that potassium is important to good health, but the question that night was whether it was good for the health of my social life. As our conversation continued, I began to wonder if I had misjudged this guy's chemical intellect. Perhaps I should have given him more credit, I thought.
My doubt was short lived. One of the things that I found odd when I first learned about potassium was its chemical symbol, so I thought I would see if he felt the same way. But when I asked him if he also found it odd that potassium's symbol was K, he blew his wise chemical facade.
"K?" he responded, asserting that the symbol was without a doubt P. Needless to say, we spent a good bit of time arguing whether K or P was the correct symbol. He just wasn't buying that the K came from potassium's Latin name, kalium, or that I was a chemistry major who knew my elements. I even went as far as looking through my friend's apartment for a book that had a periodic table in it, but unfortunately she didn't have any science books around.
Days later, I caught up with him at the library and was able to show him a copy of the periodic table, thus proving K was really the correct symbol.
Looking back, my excitement over talking chemistry at a college outing was a bit nerdy, but this guy didn't seem to mind. Although things didn't pan out between us, we had chemistry working for us for at least one evening. I just hope that he still remembers the correct symbol for potassium as well as I remember his pickup line.
Susan Morrissey received her Ph.D. in chemistry from Texas A&M University. She is an associate editor covering government and policy issues for C&EN.
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Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society