Regarding the first question, I'm guessing that you're mixing this up with Kekule's discovery of the benzene ring. From Wikipedia:
In 1865 the German chemist Friedrich August Kekulé<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_August_Kekul%C3%A9_von_Stradonitz> published a paper in French (for he was then teaching in Francophone Belgium) suggesting that the structure contained a six-membered ring of carbon atoms with alternating single and double bonds. The next year he published a much longer paper in German on the same subject.[5]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene_ring#cite_note-4>[6]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene_ring#cite_note-5> Kekulé used evidence that had accumulated in the intervening years—namely, that there always appeared to be only one isomer<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isomer> of any monoderivative<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_(chemistry)> of benzene, and that there always appeared to be exactly three isomers of every diderivative—to argue in support of his proposed structure. Kekulé's symmetrical ring could explain these curious facts, as well as benzene's 1:1 carbon-hydrogen ratio. The new understanding of benzene, and hence of all aromatic compounds, proved to be so important for both pure and applied chemistry that in 1890 the German Chemical Society organized an elaborate appreciation in Kekulé's honor, celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of his first benzene paper. Here Kekulé spoke of the creation of the theory. He said that he had discovered the ring shape of the benzene molecule after having a reverie or day-dream of a snake seizing its own tail (this is a common symbol in many ancient cultures known as the Ouroboros<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouroboros>). This vision, he said, came to him after years of studying the nature of carbon-carbon bonds. This was 20 years after he had solved the problem of how carbon atoms could bond to up to four other atoms at the same time. It is curious that a similar humorous depiction of benzene had appeared in 1886 in the Berichte der Durstigen Chemischen Gesellschaft (Journal of the Thirsty Chemical Society), a parody of the Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft, only the parody had monkeys seizing each other in a circle, rather than snakes as in Kekulé's anecdote.[7]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene_ring#cite_note-6> Some historians have suggested that the parody was a lampoon of the snake anecdote, possibly already well-known through oral transmission even if it had not yet appeared in print.[1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene_ring#cite_note-rocke-0> Others have speculated that Kekulé's story in 1890 was a re-parody of the monkey spoof, and was a mere invention rather than a recollection of an event in his life. Kekulé's 1890 speech[8]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene_ring#cite_note-7> in which these anecdotes appeared has been translated into English.[9]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene_ring#cite_note-8> If one takes the anecdote as the memory of a real event, circumstances mentioned in the story suggest that it must have happened early in 1862.[10]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene_ring#cite_note-9> ________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2008 2:10 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Dreams,LSD,scientific discovery Just trying to ascertain the veracity of some items in my long term memory: is it true that before the discovery of the Watson and Crick double helix thqt one of those guys had a dream of two snakes in formation similar to a double helix? and did LSD experimentation gave insight re microsoft type like computer systems? Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
