Where is Lois when you need her?

Appalling media misinformation about kryptonite today.

As any fule kno, kryptonite doesn’t have to be green, that is just the type that kills Kryptonians (not ‘sap them of their powers’ as the BBC and others put it – that’s gold kryptonite). In fact, white kryptonite is supposed to have a lethal effect on plantlife, but it also appears to be useful for stabilising bizarros.

Of course, if you read the small print, it turns out that the story is based on the fact that the newly found compound has ‘almost‘ the same elements as the kryptonite shown in the recent Superman Returns film, except it doesn’t contain fluorine. This is a bit like saying that oxygen is the same as water, except for the fact that it doesn’t contain hydrogen. It’s also a completely different formula to the one in Superman 3:

The chemical composition for the Kryptonite that Richard Pryor’s computer screen reads: Plutonium: 15.08% Tatalum: 18.06% Xenon: 27.71% Promethium: 24.02% Dialium: 10.62% Mercury: 3.94% Unknown: 0.57%.

But the worst thing about this story is that it turns out that Ananova doesn’t know the difference between Serbia and Siberia.
Ananova news item about kryptonite
In fact, on the last count, 24 news sources found via Google News made the same elementary mistake.

2 comments

  1. Remember back in grade school, the Elemental Chart? It was there.
    This element was discovered decades ago.

    Mendelyev’s Chart had it listed for at least 20 to 25 years.

    Best,

    GZLFB(.com)
    “There is no such “condition” as “Schizophrenia,” but the label is a social fact and the social fact a political event*” — M. Dr. Ron D. Laing, “The Politics of Experience;” Ch.5 “The Schizophrenic Experience” Pg. 121/122.
    http://www.quotesz.chronicerudite.com/

  2. I think you’re thinking of Krypton, which is an inert gas. The whole point of being inert is that you can’t make compounds out of it, thus no “-ite”. This is one of the few facts the media alluded to yesterday that WAS accurate.

    I don’t know what grade school you went to…

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