Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Alchemy at U of Toronto


On 2 of the sides of the Lash Miller Chemistry Laboratories at U of T they have installed these 17th century alchemy symbols for substances such as mercury and camphor - somehow quite suitable for a chemistry building. Since the buildings construction in 1963 these symbols have also provided a nice location for numerous bird nests which you can see poking out from behind the pieces!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. To see more signs click here.

15 comments:

  1. these signs make great addresses for the birds!

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  2. that is a nice way to decorate the wall. pity I have no idea which symbol means what!

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  3. That's very unexpected, love the symbols (Canadians are so creative!), specially after seeing the little sweet bird. ;-)

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  4. A charming photo...love the slanting shadows and the fact that birds have turned the letters into condos...:)

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  5. I agree - perfect for a chemistry building! And I probably would have missed the darling bird nests if you hadn't pointed them out!!! Love the condo concept!

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  6. oh this is very neat. an educational tool as well as a photobloggers delight.

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  7. I'm glad you pointed out the bird nests.

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  8. Very cool, Red Pat. Now you've got me wondering what the various symbols mean.

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  9. How great is this Pat -- we get the interesting signs and birds nests too! Love it.

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  10. The old alchemists were fascinating, what an inventive use of the symbols. Clever birds.

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  11. Lucky birds, just move in and start decorating! Love the signs!

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  12. I love all of this on the Chem building. Very unique...one of a kind. Like this post so much.

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  13. I love the chemical symbols (and the bird nests!).

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  14. The birds nests just make this shot!

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