John, ever my compatriot in science: (sorry, Frank ^_^)

> >> I don't have my periodic table with densities handy, but the umbrella
> >> could have a core of processed Plutonium, with a protective coating of
> >> lead electroplated onto it.
> >
> >The densest real material is the element osmium.  It's not radioactive.
> 
> Yeah, but osmium is poisonous. Upon exposure to air it forms osmium
> tetroxide. I remember interning in a lab where they got this shipment
> of some osmium chemical. It was packed in a container inside a metal
> can inside some paper inside a box. After storing the chemical, the
> lab assistant crushed the metal can to make sure nobody tried to use
> it for anything.

<Bradster sighs, remembering the good old days of yore when he, John,
and Gnollman would talk nigh endlessly on the ML about chemistry, much
to Saotome Laura's irritation.  he then composes this part to the tune
of "Where have all the Good Times Gone?">

Osmium tetroxide is one of the worst lachrymators I have ever come into
contact with.  I was using it a few years ago in an oxidation reaction,
and had to chill it before cracking the vial open (reduce the vapor
pressure and all that).  Even so, I was out in the hall weeping my eyes
out inside of a minute.  Damn feeble hoods.

As far as storage goes- tell me about it!  I regularly get boxes which
are about 2 feet on a side, which contain a metal can about 1 foot long
and 8 inches wide, which contain vermiculite (like wood shavings, but
not), which contains a plastic bag, and inside of this plastic bag is an
ampule about 6 inches long. -_-  Aldrich, Lancaster, and the other large
companies take no chances with their nasties...
======

Don:
> > I don't have my periodic table with densities handy, but the umbrella
> > could have a core of processed Plutonium, with a protective coating of
> > lead electroplated onto it.
> 
>         I don't think just because an element is high on the periodic table
> means it's heavy.

Actually, that's exactly what it means.  The higher something is on the
periodic table, the higher its atomic weight is (with the exception of
Ar -> K, Co -> Ni, and some others.  But I digress...).  However,
density/specific gravity can be independent of atomic weight, which is
why I was looking for my table that had densities listed on them, and
not just looking for the atom with the highest Atomic number, which
would not be Plutonium by a long shot.

Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs, Don.  I'm a chemist,
remember? ^_^
=================

I was rereading the whole Ice-Skating match for that Battle Arena
homepage, and something Akane said kind of struck me as curious- after
Nabiki and Kasumi tease him, saying that it would have been tragic if
Mikado's kiss was Ranma's first (it was, apparently), Akane asks him if
it really was his first.  For some reason, I'm left with the impression
that either Akane has been kissed before, or that she was surprised that
no one had kissed Ranma yet.

Also re-noticed Ranma's thoughts when Ryoga makes his entrance "...just
when things were getting good, too!"

-- 
Bradster   "My mind is aglow, with whirling, transient nodes of thought,
careening through a cosmic vapor of invention!"
"Ditto!"
<glare> "Ditto?!"