R Puzzle: Chemistry Lab

by Lance Nathan

As suggested by the title, and the fact that these objects are "arrayed on a table," this puzzle is based on the periodic table--or rather, on a variety of periodic tables. They are:

• The Table of Condiments that Periodically Go Bad
• The Periodic Table of Rejected Elements (text version that shows up on a websearch at http://www.schneertz.com/elements.html)
• Douglas Coupland's male and female elements
• The Periodic Table of Science Fiction (titles used)
• The Periodic Table of the Elephants

Looking up each of the "elements" in the puzzle on one of these tables allows you to find the next element in each case:

Sin
Nutella
Aspartame
Pylon
Convenience Store
Ready Teller
Angels of the Apocalypse
Carbon
Ketsup
Loxodontium
Edible Oil Product
Pekingese
Ozone
Peanut Butter
Space Pirates
Cerium--At Last!
Europe
Robot
Exhaustion
Anodyne
Lottery

The first letters of each of these elements spell SNAP CRACKLE POP'S CEREAL, which is RICE KRISPIES.