The Royal Society of Chemistry once again hits on a novel way to capture media and public attention by drawing attention to a flaw with a recent episode of BBC forensic drama Sherlock. In the episode, a periodic table is seen hanging on Sherlock Holmes’ wall, but it’s a dusty ancient version, the RSC suggests. The org proclaims that pioneering chemist Dmitri Mendeleev would be turning in his grave to see the sleuth using such an outmoded version of his arrangement of the elements rather than keeping up with the latest tech.
The RSC is offering to send Sherlock a copy of its Visual Elements Periodic Table. But, Sherlock may already be using the RSC’s periodic table app on his smart phone and keeps the archaic arrangement on his wall merely as a reminder from whence he came.