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

Francium is so unstable that there is likely less than 30 grams of it in the Earth's crust at any given moment.

Why it is true

The most stable isotope of francium has a half-life of only 22 minutes. It rapidly decays into other elements, meaning any amount that forms in nature disappears almost instantly.

Source: Los Alamos National Laboratory

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