Death - we've all heard of it, and some of you may have experienced it first hand, but do you really understand what it is and how to use it?
Death, or death metal, to give its full chemical name, is a dangerous silvery solid that melts at around 530 degrees celsius. Its main industrial use is to make bullets, hence the origin of the saying "Guns don't kill people - death kills people."
It has the chemical symbol De and it is the noisiest element on the periodic table - beating the second loudest, iron, by over 65 decibels.
As we all know, death can be lethal. Death accounts for an incredible percentage of fatalities, only suicide and boredom kill more in the UK each year. Despite the dangers, death is less closely regulated than either asbestos or olives, which is why over one in eight of us will be touched by death at some point during our lives.
According to the Bible, death was first discovered around the time of Noah. Old people were hanging around too long and generally becoming a nuisance, so this new discovery helped clear the way for younger people to take charge. Creationists believe that when God sent the Great Flood to kill off all the dinosaurs and other unwanted animals, it was in effect a very dilute solution of death.
Archaelogical records show that death was certainly well known and appreciated by the Romans, who used to make spears out of it and poke each other using them in their version of the Olympics. Julius Ceasar is know to have received a dagger made of death from his friend Brutus, a highly expensive and desirable gift worthy of his high rank in Rome.
Where do we get death from? Death is found naturally in saturated fats, apples and burnt toast, but the majority of death is now produced artificially and is no longer the rich luxury item that our grandparents generation saved all their lives to own.
Inheritance tax rules have, for many years, outlawed the immediate transfer of death from the estate of a deceased relative, there is usually a term requiring a wait of, in some cases up to 30 or 40 years for it to be passed down to the heirs.
Can you think of some famous people who have been involved with death?
Of course! There are dozens. Here are three examples:
BBC TV presenter Roy Castle famously inhaled second-hand death after performing in mortuaries every week for 30 years.
It's thought that King Henry V suffered from acute death towards the end of his life.
Amelia Aerhart tried to fly single-handedly around the world in an airplane made from death.
If you had death, what would you do with it? We have some to give away in our Facebook competition. Like our page and YOU could be the lucky winner.
(somewhat in the style of 'Look around you' - no apologies!)
