Base Instinct: The Proton Hunter

Ever notice how bases are basically proton-hungry stalkers? This meme perfectly captures the chemical desperation of a Brønsted-Lowry base spotting an innocent proton across the solution.

In chemistry, Brønsted-Lowry bases are defined by their ability to accept protons (H+ ions), essentially making them proton-receivers. Meanwhile, acids are proton-donors. The meme shows the base creepily eyeing that sweet, sweet proton, ready to snatch it away with all the subtlety of a grad student spotting free food at a department seminar.

Thirty years of teaching chemistry and I still chuckle at how we anthropomorphize molecular interactions. As if molecules have desires and motivations beyond their electron configurations. Yet here we are, pretending bases have stalker tendencies.