Hello World!

Welcome to my first blog.

So, what is Element J?

Let me start at the beginning. Growing up, I always thought letters Q and X were lame, and letter J was way cooler.

When I started college and got obsessed with the Periodic Table, I realized that Q (used for temporary elements) and X made it onto the table before J. My dream of owning a T-shirt with my name spelled using elements is not possible until the last few elements are named.

I had high hopes for Japan and sincerely wished that they’d follow America and name the element they discovered something similar – Japanium! The last few elements were officially named, and to my utter shock, letter J once again did not make it. Japan named the element Nihonium for obvious reasons (Fun fact: Japan is “Nihon” in its native language).

Anyway, I moved to the Netherlands a year ago and started learning Dutch. I realized that the sound of J doesn’t exist in a lot of European languages. I spent some time figuring out why letter J is so irrelevant.

Turns out, most of the scientific nomenclature is Latin-derived, just like many European languages, and Latin doesn’t have—drumroll—letter J! Most European languages use J as a filler; I think they feel a bit bad and, out of pity, sprinkle Js here and there.

Until recently, I had finally given up on letter J and my dream of owning something nerdy with it. Then, while doomscrolling, I saw a lame video that claimed everyone whose name starts with a J is an asshole. Full context and everything.

I know I shouldn’t get hung up on some lame video, but this is it. I am done waiting for the world to discover and value the letter and the element J. I am doing it myself, with this blog.

Just like one cannot predict the properties of this nonexistent element, you cannot predict what this blog will be about. If you have made it to the end of this post, be prepared for stories that could be as random as the story of this name.