The Disappearing Spoon: Introduction Summary & Analysis

As a child, Kean has a habit of talking with his mouth full. This leads him to open his mouth while he has a mercury thermometer inside, which subsequently falls out and smashes on the floor, releasing the silver bubbles of liquid mercury inside. Sometimes, Kean’s mother lets him poke the little balls of mercury, which medieval alchemists believed was “the most potent and poetic substance in the universe.” In contrast to other substances like air and water, mercury is an element. Kean develops a fascination with it, searching for information about it wherever he can.

In the course of this search, Kean learns that in the 18th century, doctors would prescribe mercury laxatives as treatment for pretty much any illness. (The result was that many people were poisoned to death who might otherwise have gotten better and survived.) However, this use of mercury has allowed archeologists to find campsites of settlers by searching for mercury deposits. Kean also learns about mercury in science class, although at first he can’t find it on the periodic table due to its name, Hg, which comes from the Latin hydragyrum, which means “water silver.”

Kean’s fascination with mercury leads him through the fields of “history, etymology, alchemy, mythology, literature, poison forensics, and psychology.” In college he majors in physics yet he always enjoys scientific narrative far more than conducting experiments in a lab. He becomes fixated with the stories about the elements in the periodic table. At first glance, the table is simply an account of all the kinds of matter that exist in the universe. The shape of the table groups different kinds of matter together and there is also information within the table about where the elements come from, how they behave, and how stable they are. The table is also a “human artifact” that tells the story of the history of humanity. It surrounds us even if we don’t notice it.