Chemical nomenclature, replete as it is with compounds with complex names, is a repository for some very peculiar and sometimes startling names. A browse through the Physical Constants of Organic Compounds in the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (a fundamental resource) will reveal not just the whimsical work of organic chemists, but the sometimes peculiar compound names that occur as the consequence of simple juxtaposition. Some compounds whose names derive legitimately from their chemical makeup or from the geographic region where they may be found include:

• Arsole (C4H5As) - a form of azole, in which an arsenic atom replaces the nitrogen atom. Such a replacement in a benzene ring, where the arsenic atom replaces a carbon atom, is known as benzarsole

• Megaphone - a ketone derived from the root of Aniba Megaphylla

• Unununium (Uuu) - the former temporary name of the chemical element number 111, a synthetic transuranium element. This element was named Roentgenium (Rg) on November 2004.

• Cummingtonite ((Mg,Fe)7Si8(OH)22) - magnesium-iron silicate hydroxide, from Cummington, Mass, where it was first identified

• Dickite (Al2Si2O5(OH)4) - a clay-like material with a number of manufacturing uses, one of which is as a coating for high-quality bond paper. Named after its discover, Dr. W. Thomas Dick

• Fukalite (Ca4Si206(CO3)(OH,F))2 - a rare form of calcium silicocarbonate mined in the Fuka region of Japan

• Fucitol (L-fuc-ol/1-deoxy-D-galactitol) - an alcohol derived from Fucus vesiculosis, a North Atlantic seaweed.

• Crapinon - an anticholinergic drug, one side-effect of which is constipation.

• Uranate - any of a number of negatively-charged uranium oxide anions.

• DEAD (diethyl azodicarboxylate) - an apt acronym, given that DEAD is explosive; shock sensitive; carcinogenic; and an eye, skin, and respiratory irritant.

• Performic acid - Related to formic acid, a strong oxidizer

• Periodic acid

• R-CMP - this is R-cytodine monophosphate, a component of RNA, but also the acronym for the Canadian Mounties.

External links

• A more extensive list from Paul May at Bristol University.
• Arsole Aromaticity Revisited