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ScienceSurprise 4/5Difficulty 4/5Reviewed on October 17, 2026

Fluorine is the most reactive chemical element and reacts even with glass and some noble gases.

Why it is true

It is so aggressive that several chemists were injured or killed trying to isolate it. The Frenchman Henri Moissan finally managed it in 1886, earning him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1906. In small amounts, its compounds protect teeth in toothpaste.

Source: Royal Society of Chemistry

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