ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Two months ago, on the social media site Reddit, a user called Dolonotikz posted a picture of his new tattoo, along with a note rebuffing commenters who said he would regret it. The tattoo is a line structure of MDMA, the active ingredient in the club drug Ecstasy.
Except that it isn’t. The structure is wrong, with only two double bonds in what should be the central benzene ring. The photo quickly made its way onto the chemistry section of the site, where the Chemistry Reddit community proceeded to detail and debate the exact route by which the erroneous molecule would break down. Commenters also suggested ways that a skilled tattoo artist could correct the structure.
The Newscripts gang knew our readers could do better with structural accuracy, so we asked them to share their own chemical tattoos on Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook. Here are a few of our favorites.
Craig Bettenhausen wrote this week’s column. Please send comments and suggestions to newscripts@acs.org.
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on Twitter