[watch this video] The periodic table table (and fic libraries and carved books)

[unjapanologist]

Theo Gray, element collector and many other things, constructed a table with a hand-carved wooden tile for every element in Mendeleev's periodic table. Each tile hides a sample of the element inside the table. It's a beautiful piece of work, and I love how it shows that there are real, physical, interesting things behind that perfectly boring grid

Comments

[ljlee]

That is truly fascinating, though when I read your description I at first thought of a table with little glass compartments that showcased the elements' unique colors and textures. After that flight of fancy the actual table was a bit of a letdown, though it's still lovely. Human passion can be an amazing thing.

Some parts of this guy's collection had me recoiling in horror. The mercury, okay, but IS THAT A HUMAN BONE IS THAT EVEN LEGAL and WHY DOES HE HAVE STUFF IN THE HOUSE THAT BURNS THROUGH FLESH AND ROTS PEOPLE'S JAWS OFF

*calms down* Okay, sorry for shouting there. He no doubt knows more about this stuff than I do and would take the proper safety precautions (WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS UNFORTUNATE ABOUT THE URANIUM TANK PENETRATOR BEING FAKE YOU KOOK), but still it's sort of scary and a good reminder of how powerful these elements are. Respect for the building blocks of the physical world and all. But I'd rather respect them at a healthy distance.

[ljlee]

Also, If I were to have a collection, it would be artistically rendered samples of good and bad writing. Saul Bellow's passage about a fish-shop display would be on printed on a photograph of fish in their silent scream, and John Lithgow's performance of Newt Gingrich's epic press release will be played in a continuous loop on a wall. Oscar Wilde's Salome will be spoken in haunting, random snatches when the viewer should brush past a silken hanging or step on a colored stone on the floor (my playing of Tale of Tales' Fatale probably influenced this idea), and of course, the immortal dramatic reading of Legolas by Laura will have a room of its own filled with whoopee cushions and cheap alcohol for quick drinking games.

Okay, that's a museum more than an archive. And probably impossible for the foreseeable future for copyright reasons. A girl can dream.