Chimica Arcana

To grasp the invisible elements, to attract them by their material correspondence, to control, purify and transform them by the living power of the spirit, this is true alchemy. 

~Paracelsus (1493-1541)

Before any sort of chemical bonding was even thought of there were charts of so-called affinities.  I found this interesting chart dating from 1718 on Wiki. It teaches how the then-known "elements" combined with each other. The top row identifies an element and the columns contain those elements with which it combines. Note that sulfur (middle column) was considered the most promiscuous element, consistent with its primacy as the "soul" of matter according to alchemy. Also bear in mind that this simple chart condenses the then known science of chemisty, ca. 1718.  I like the arcane symbols and could see using some them as avatars depending on my mood:

Click to enlarge or see link above

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Here are my translations of the "elements."

Esprit acides : Acidic (acerbic) spirits

Acide du sel marin: Lit. acid of sea salt, HCl (which was thought to contain oxygen until Davy showed otherwise: link)

Acide nitreux: Nitric and nitrous acids, HNO₃, HNO₂

Acide vitriolique: Sulfuric and sulfurous acids, derived from oleum & vitriol.

Sel alcali fixe: Sodium & potassium hydroxides and carbonates.

Sel alcali volatil: Sal ammoniac, NH₄Cl, which sublimed and was endlessly fascinating.

Terre absorbante: Silicates (sand) and diatomaceous earth.

Substances metalliques: Metallic substances

Mercure: Mercury was considered to be the spirit of matter.

Regule d'Antimoine: Regulus of antimony--metallic antimony. Regulus means "little King"

Or: Gold

Argent: Silver

Cuivre: Copper

Fer: Iron

Plomb: lead

Etain: Tin

Zinc

Pierre Calaminaire: Lit. calamine stone, i.e., calamine ore. Note the French place name.

Soufre mineral: Sulfur or brimstone.  This material held a special place in alchemy, along with mercury and salt.

Principe huileux ou Soufre: The oily essence of organic substances from plants, also called the "sulfur." See the interesting discussion under Spagyric.

Esprit de vinaigre: Vinegar or acetic acid

Eau: water

Sel: Salt held a special place in alchemy along with mercury and sulfur.  

Esprit de vin et Esprit ardents: Any of the flammable alcohols derived from fermentation, e.g., ethanol, methanol, etc.

What Is The World's Smelliest Chemical?

Wikipedia corrals some of the suspects here: link  I thought I'd put their mugshots up here. Please vote for your favorite in the comments or suggest your own "worst."

(1) Spermidine, the essence of "funky spunk." 

Spermidine is related to aptly-named cadaverine and putrescine.

(2) Trimethylamine, the essence of "fish taco:"

(3) Butyric Acid, the essence of vomit:

(4) Skatole, an indole & the essence of poop:

(5) Mercaptans--methyl and butyl thiols--the essence of skunk:

R = methyl and butyl

(6) Hydrogen sulfide, H₂S, the essence of rotten eggs and bad farts:

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Runner's up which did not make Wiki's list:
(a) Cacodyl, named from the Greek, meaning "evil-smelling."
(b) Bromine, from Greek βρῶμος, brómos, meaning "stench (of he-goats)"
(c) Cyclohexane thiol: This is technically covered under (5), but to my nose smells like the essence of armpit B.O.

Stinkstoff

original

Stinkstoff is my own made-up name for sulfur, with Stoff being the German equivalent of the suffix "gen"  (Stinkstoff = stink begetting). The actual modern German word for sulfur is Schwefel, but there is an older germanic term related to our cognate word brimstone. Van der Krogt does better justice to the word origins here.

I thought a bit about why so many sulfur-bearing compounds smell so badly. Why have we have evolved (or were given) such astonishing olfactory sensitivity to sulfur? Is it a protective defense mechanism? Is this is why our mothers teach us to wash our hands after a number two?

Anaerobic infections are life-threatening. link  A common characteristic of anaerobic microorganisms is their use and production of sulfur-bearing compounds. Chemically, anaerobic organisms rely on sulfur instead of oxygen and use elemental sulfur or even sulfates as electron acceptors. So while aerobic metabolism reduces oxygen to water, anerobic organisms reduce sulfur, "S₂", to hydrogen sulfide, H₂S (the essence of rotten eggs). The smell is the danger signal.

Anerobic organisms are found wherever life without much oxygen is found. Sunlight and fresh air are toxic to many of them. They thrive at the bottom of the sea near hydrothermal vents, in enclosed spaces, and in our guts as E. coli. There is a theory that primitive life was sulfur-based before aerobic plants and bacteria filled the atmosphere with enough oxygen to support life. I wrote a bit about atmospheric oxygen back here.

There is an entire "shadow metabolism" which kicks in for some organisms in the absence of oxygen. Even highly complex coenzymes like vitamin B₁₂ have anaerobic counterparts: cf. S-adensylmethionine, which goes by the alias "Poor Man's B12". Some bacteria even have DNA that encodes both aerobic and anaerobic enzymes and which express them according to living conditions.

Word Verifications: Isotope and Allotrope

wv = "isotope": noun. The prefix iso is obvious and means the same in Greek.  Topos as in topography has the meaning of place. The word isotope was coined by a Greek-schooled physician named Margaret Todd to convey the notion of at the same place in the Periodic Table. Thus only chemical species with different numbers of protons get separate seats at the Table. Elements having different numbers of neutrons must share the same seat. This is also true for radioisotopes.

wv =  "allotrope": noun:  The prefix allo is related to the Greek allos meaning other. Trope is a confusing root and in my opinion is a vague word having several different meanings. The combination allotrope means a structurally different form of the same element ("Graphite and diamond are allotropes of carbon"). 

Phosphorus and especially sulfur are allotrope-rich. The concept of allotrope is akin to an elemental alias. Sulfur has several different aliases or allotropes. Yes, I like that.