So, what was that lazy gas?

And the answer is …..

……. Argon.

Why Argon?

The Greek word ‘Argos’ means lazy and it was this word that gave rise to Argon.

Argon is a noble gas – it doesn’t react with anything (we all know that). It was ‘discovered’ by default. It was the remaining 1% of air that did not do anything (ie, did not react with anything) – so it was thought of as being lazy – and the name stuck!