Berzelius Memes

Poor John Dalton thought he was revolutionizing chemistry with his element symbols, only to have Berzelius swoop in with a better system! In 1803, Dalton created circular symbols for elements in his atomic theory work, feeling super proud. Then Jöns Jacob Berzelius came along in 1813 with those one or two-letter abbreviations we all know today (H, O, Na, etc.) and BOOM—Dalton's symbols became chemistry's equivalent of Betamax tapes. Chemistry's greatest ghosting story! The scientific equivalent of spending hours on your outfit only to have someone else show up in something way cooler. 💔

The chemistry world's original ghosting story! John Dalton proposed element symbols based on English names (like O for Oxygen, H for Hydrogen) in 1803, feeling pretty smug about his brilliant system. Then Berzelius swooped in with those Latin-based symbols we use today (Fe for Ferrum/Iron, Na for Natrium/Sodium), and Dalton's contribution got completely sidelined. Talk about a scientific rejection that still stings two centuries later! Poor guy probably muttered "I created atomic theory too, you know" at parties for the rest of his life.

The 19th century chemistry smackdown we never knew we needed! Berzelius, the OG vitalist, basically claimed "only living things can make organic compounds, it's magic!" Then Friedrich Wöhler strolls in like SpongeBob with his lab goggles and synthesizes urea from inorganic ammonium cyanate in 1828. Just casually DESTROYING the entire vitalism theory while probably sipping tea. It's like watching someone insist "humans can't fly" right before the Wright brothers take off. Science history's greatest "hold my beaker" moment!