Angstrom Memes

Ever played Russian roulette with a separatory funnel? Nothing says "I've made terrible life choices" quite like forgetting to release pressure after shaking organic solvents. The title's 300,000,000 Angström (that's 30 centimeters for those who communicate in normal units) is the chemist's humble brag for narrowly avoiding a face full of dichloromethane. Chemistry lab veterans know the drill—shake, vent, repeat—but somehow we all have that one memory of a stopper missile launching across the lab. Natural selection is just waiting for its moment in organic chemistry.