OT:Periodic Table of Elements by Country of Discovery

This is a bit off topic, but I think interesting and relevant here, since we have an international readership with a keen interest in science. The image comes via Google+ from the Google Science Fair.

The graphic is pretty much self-explanatory — it shows the periodic table of elements in terms of the nationality of the person who discovered each element. There are a number of elements such as gold and mercury that have been known about for centuries, and these are listed as ‘known to the ancients’

periodictablebycountry

While the UK narrowly tops the charts, I think it is Sweden which comes off as being the most impressive country represented, since its population is so small relative to the other countries at the top of the list. I’m not sure if there is anything of major significance represented by the graphic, except it might be a reflection of the importance that science has played over the years in the culture and educational systems of certain countries. It would be interesting if the years of discovery were mentioned here too.