AskReddit is a treasure trove of random questions. They can get goofy or deep, depending on the person who asks.
One Redditor asked people a rather random question:
“You have complete control over one element from the periodic table, what can you do with it?”
Responses ranged from the sarcastic to the practical, to over-the-top. Let’s check out the posts that stood out!
30. The Midas Touch
“MAKE EVERYTHING GOLD.”—TonyDanza757
29. A Rational Control-Freak
“Carbon.
You can control many things including humans.”—Mithrandir_MH
28. This Political Tool
“Use helium to make politicians talk funny when they’re trying to be serious on TV.”—pantalonesreed
27. Someone Has a God Complex!
“I choose hydrogen of course.
Water, acids, and the vast majority of matter in the universe. I’m basically a god.”—Catacomb82
26. Chemical Gold-Digger
“Get rich with Au.”—_arthur-morgan_
25. An Altruistic Answer
“Idk I’d team up with some nuclear physics and ask them what they want me to do with uranium to help them harvest energy safely and sustainably.
Solve energy issues. That increases quality of life for a lot of people.
Hopefully y’all donate to my Patreon or something.”—honestgoing
24. Be Careful What You Wish For
“I’m claiming Law of Surprise!
Whichever element is discovered next is mine.”—sensualcephalopod
23. Power-Hungry Much?
“Oxygen.
Suffocate people. Save them from drowning. Blood doping without needles so I can enhance my abilities. Create fires. Squelch them out.
And that’s only if I can control its saturation.”—Cosmic-Cranberry
22. Make Everyone Stronger!
“Fluorine.
I’m really good at hugging.”—purpleinme
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
21. Someone’s Feeling Salty
“Let’s go sodium!
I could do some really evil shit…”—RomeoTheHammer
20. A Punny Answer
“I’d make a funny joke with this but all the good ones argon.”—RabidPanzerEXE
19. Understated Iron Gets Love
“Fe, iron. A small overflow in the human body and you are death.”—touchmygeothermalass
18. This Could Be Good?
“Lead.
Control damn near every bullet fired.”—camelCaseCoder
17. An Unorthodox Choice!
“Mercury.
You sure his fever is 103?”—BabysCrumbBuffet
16. Whatever Helps You Make a Robot
“Silicon.
I’m gonna make me a robot.”—Stop_Sign
15. A Practical Response
“Instead of going for a knee-jerk answer that gets a laugh, I’d consult scientists because it would be the most important thing in human history.”—LoreleiOpine
14. The Power of Copper!
“With the power of copper, I can finally KILL Metro Man and rule Metrocity!”—JanesPlainShameTrain
13. Professor Rodium
“Mwahaha I am Professor Rhodium, master of said noble element.
With my power, I can make or break your cars emissions test. bwwwhahaha.”—apocoluster
12. A Colorful Ambition
“Neon.
If we’re talking infamous level of control, definitely neon.”—thisb0at
11. A Weird Reason to Pick Cobalt
“Cobalt double the cost of electronics.”—Chariot-of-Belenus
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
10. Surprise Them With Astatine
“Surprised I haven’t found astatine yet; I have small and subtle control of something so dangerously radioactive, used to accomplish small tasks (like removing inconvenient enemies).”—mossy84
9. Someone Chose This Rare One
“Californium.
I get rich as Croesus because it’s worth $25 million per GRAM and the annual world output is about a half gram.”—HyperboreanAnarch
8. It’s Not Anti-Money…
“Antimony.
Now I just need some fluorine and hydrogen which I can steal with the threat of blocking their trachea with antimony, then react to make fluorantimonic acid and watch the earth disappear.”—SpartAlfresco
7. These Elements Make it Easier to Hustle
“Carbon or titanium.
Would spend time making things and selling them when cash is needed. Plus i want the ability to make weapons appear out of nowhere and pretend to be a summoner.”—jackelgod
6. A Smart Choice
“Platinum.
Way less of it around than gold so it’s worth more. If I make just enough I’ll be rich without screwing up supply and command.”—auniqueusername2000
5. Sweet and Practical
“Technetium. I can remediate some groundwater near nuclear sites! Think of the savings to the tax-payer!”—saluksic
4. One of The Hardest Metals
“Tungsten
One of the hardest metals on earth and has the highest melting point of all elements.
Wanna shoot me? Try getting through 20mm of Tungsten armor. Throw me into a Volcano? More like a hot tub to me.
I love Tungsten.”—Preussensgeneralstab
3. Control the Most Expensive One!
“Francium.
Apparently the most expensive element on the periodic table.”—sslee12
2. Zinc, Because of its Importance
“The Simpsons taught me how important Zinc is.”—AvatarofBro
1. A Unique Choice!
“Probably a lanthanide or actinide; if I have complete control, I can split off n/p+/e‐ and turn it into anything else I want.
And if I cant do that, welll….. carbon, duh.”—Seraphus_Nocturnus
People have chosen elements to control for strange or ironic reasons. As you can see, other Redditors thought about the effects of their choices and wanted to control an element that would help the public.
What did you think of their choices or reasons? Feel free to share your thoughts on the subject in the comments!
