Warfare Memes

Oh sweet mother of molecules! The meme perfectly captures our chemical trauma with mustard! In liquid form? *dramatic sob into handkerchief* But gaseous form? *eyes bulging* That's chemical warfare territory! Mustard gas (sulfur mustard) was a horrific chemical weapon in WWI that caused blistering and respiratory damage. Meanwhile, regular mustard condiment is just living its best life as a tasty sandwich topping. The phase change makes ALL the difference between "yum" and "DEAR NEPTUNE MY LUNGS ARE MELTING!" I still have nightmares from that one time in the lab when... actually, let's not talk about that incident. The safety inspector still twitches when he sees yellow condiments!

The dark humor here plays on the horrific history of chemical warfare with a Pokémon battle reference! Fritz Haber, the German chemist who developed weaponized chlorine gas in WWI, would be both impressed and appalled. The meme juxtaposes casual lab experimentation with the Geneva Convention-breaking suggestion to light mustard gas on fire. Fun chemistry fact: mustard gas (sulfur mustard) doesn't actually need to be ignited to be deadly—it's a vesicant that causes severe blistering on contact. Setting it on fire would just create an even more catastrophic violation of international law. The British flag and helmet complete this historically grim but scientifically accurate joke about one of chemistry's darkest chapters.