Onion Memes

The perfect fusion of chemistry and wordplay! In the top panel, an onion with a "+" symbol becomes "ONION" (ON+ION), while the bottom shows just the onion with "ON." It's basically the chemical breakdown of "onion" into its constituent parts—the prefix "on" and the chemical ion suffix. Chemistry nerds will appreciate that ions are actually charged particles formed when atoms gain or lose electrons. So technically, this onion isn't just making us cry—it's teaching us chemical nomenclature while doing it! The kind of joke that would make your chemistry teacher simultaneously proud and disappointed.

The perfect visual representation of ion formation in chemistry. Take an onion, remove the "i" (just like removing an electron), and you're left with a positively charged "on." This is basically what my intro chem students think happens when we discuss cations. Next week I'll bring a bag of onions to class and dramatically cross out letters on the whiteboard. Still more effective than most textbook explanations.