Alkenes Memes

The perfect visual representation of carbon-carbon bonds! The top fence (alkane) shows a single rail—just like those boring single bonds between carbon atoms. The middle fence (alkene) has two rails, representing the double bond that makes organic chemistry slightly more interesting. And the bottom fence (alkyne) flaunts three rails, just like the triple bond that makes chemists go "ooooh." Chemistry professors probably have this printed and framed in their offices right next to their periodic table shower curtains.

The molecule shown is 2-butene, which exists in two forms: cis and trans isomers. The meme brilliantly plays on the word "transphobic" by showing the trans isomer of 2-butene and claiming to be afraid of it. In organic chemistry, trans isomers have groups on opposite sides of the double bond, while cis isomers have them on the same side. This molecule is specifically trans -2-butene with methyl groups (CH₃) positioned diagonally from each other. The molecular pun is peak chemistry nerd humor—being literally afraid of a trans configuration! Chemistry students everywhere are quietly snickering in the back of lecture halls.

This meme is a brilliant play on chemical notation using political satire! It shows the progression of chemical bonds (single, double, triple) between atoms, but replaces the atoms with faces and uses a wordplay on "Putin" that mimics the naming convention of hydrocarbons. In chemistry, alkanes with single bonds are named with "-an" (like ethane), alkenes with double bonds use "-en" (like ethene), and alkynes with triple bonds use "-in" (like ethyne). The meme cleverly transforms "Putin" into "Putan" (single bond), "Puten" (double bond), and "Putin" (triple bond)! The title "Old But Au" is itself a chemistry pun - Au being the chemical symbol for gold, suggesting this joke is an oldie but a goldie. Nerdy chemical nomenclature has never been so politically charged!