The first time I played an escape room with my cousins, one of the clues was a box with a drawing of salt on it. We figured out pretty quickly that it was meant to be NaCl and that we had to choose the keys on the wall corresponding to those two elements

Immediately my ++

science highschool, science degree brain was like "Okay, Na is... 22.99 and Cl is 35.45. WHY ARE WE DEALING WITH DECIMALS???? Grab the keys marked 23 and 35."

... they did not work

(Non-science ppl need not fear, a different clue unlocks a desk with the periodic table inside)++

(We found the code for that desk much much much MUCH later. Like. We were one clue away from done with the room.)++

We got stuck on that stupid salt box for a good 15mins because it took me ages to realise "11 AND 17!!!! JFC!!!!!!"

Later at the end of the game (we did get out, tyvm), the roommaster told us that he was trying so hard not to laugh watching us struggle with 22.99 and 35.45 ++

that internally he was wondering what kind of nerd remembers the atomic WEIGHT (which you have a given kodigo to refer to for exams) before the atomic NUMBER (which for a lot of the early elements you actually need to memorise)

Anyway the point of this thread is that I miss the brain that was smart and breezed through differential and integral calculus (both of which I've never needed in my life, who tf made the Bio curric?? Thanks for the GPA boost though) and could call up atomic weights on the fly