Back in high school chemistry, I thought of the periodic table of the elements as something more or less set in stone. Found a new element? Just tack it onto that big, boxy chart of 100-odd substances. But as elements continue to be discovered (including, most recently, confirmation of the existence of element 118) some scientists have proposed a reorganization of the classic table. One of the most interesting of these is the Periodic Spiral — explained neatly here by the New York Times, and also available in a very snazzy, interactive format at PeriodicSpiral.com.
Something else that I never thought of as possessing much potential for expansion or reorganization: Rock, Paper, Scissors. Fortunately, some people are much more creative than me, and also have waaaay too much time on their hands. For proof, look no further than the awe-inspiring RPS-25 chart, which illustrates all the possible "Paper smothers rock"-type equations in a game with 25 different hand symbols — from the classic trio, to bizarre new possibilities like "Sponge," "Alien," and "Dragon." If you can still concentrate through the post-Thanksgiving-dinner haze, print out the chart and have some fun creating conflicts like "Cockroach survives Nuke."
