Today is the 200th birthday of chemist Robert Bunsen. He left us with the Bunsen burner, caesium, rubidium, and one heck of a Muppet. I’ll always remember him for his stylin’ (and profilin’) neckbeard.
If you have yet to visit Google today, they have a great doodle in his honor.
Following Matthew on Twitter is cool.
Image: Flickr/Juan J. Martinez
I was so disappointed to click through to this article. When I heard that it was “Bun-Bun’s” birthday, I immediately thought it was referring to the composer of the music for Mega Man 3, the video game that inspired me to become a musician.
Instead, it turned out to be a playful nickname for Robert Bunsen. Who, I guess, probably inspired lots of people to become scientists. Which is also good.
My “Bun Bun” was Yasuaki Fujita, according to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bun_Bun
He obviously rocked the neck beard so his beard wouldn’t catch on fire when messing around with the Burner.
Isn’t he the guy on the cough drops box?
/nerdvoice
actually, the Bunsen Burner was invented by Michael Faraday.