Hazard Memes

That moment when you're not sure if you've created a groundbreaking compound or just the next chemical weapon. Nothing says "successful synthesis" like the overwhelming urge to evacuate the lab. Pro tip: If your product makes your eyes water from across the room, you've either made something Nobel-worthy or something Geneva Convention-worthy. Either way, your lab notebook will have an interesting entry today.

The ultimate chemistry dark humor! That's azidoazide azide (C 2 N 14 ), possibly the most explosive compound known to chemists. Those three azide groups (N 3 ) make this molecule so unstable it can detonate if you breathe near it, look at it wrong, or even think about synthesizing it. The hazard diamond below should have "💀" in that empty space because this molecule scores a perfect 5 in health, fire, and reactivity hazards. Chemists call this stuff "just waiting to explode" rather than a stable compound. Anyone who's worked in a lab knows that one mysterious compound that makes everyone nervously back away—this is THAT compound on steroids!