World of Chemistry

Last week I was sitting in a meeting at work.  Everything was progressing as usual when suddenly, unbidden, a tune popped into my brain: "Duh da da da duh-da - baaayyyowwwmmm..."  At first, I was confused.  My confusion quickly cycled to surprise and then incredulity when I realized it was the theme song from a video series we used to watch in a high school class.  Where did it come from?  Where had it gone for fifteen years?  What combination of factors caused the right synapses to fire that brought it up again?

I have no idea, of course, but I became obsessed with figuring out exactly what the song was.  It was from a science class.  Early in high school.  Lindsey and I used to joke about it.  Something about Chemistry?  The Wonders of Chemistry?  If only I could come up with the title, I knew YouTube wouldn't let me down.

YouTube didn't let me down.  The program was World of Chemistry, and it featured everybody's good friend Don Showalter.  There was apparently another guy, Roald Hoffmann, but I mostly remember Don.  It's crazy to see these videos, and hear the theme song, after having last seen it in the tenth grade.  This show ruled.  Here are a couple of YouTube samples: first the theme song, and then a montage of Don Showalter getting excited about noble gases and alkali metals.





Oh, Chemistry.