Scrawled Shortcuts through the Research Maze
In addition to the basic facts about each chemical element, there's a Au* mine of chemical information in these books:
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Where does neatsfoot oil come from? “The feet of neat (bovine) cattle,” of course (p. 1112)! (Think about bovine Felix Ungers, then . Then look up neat cattle: Oxford English Dictionary link on the Research Resource page.) Reference RS51 .M4 2006
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What element makes a ruby red? Search for ruby, then limit to science books. http://www.credoreference.com.ezproxy.drew.edu/home.do 
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*Au is the chemical symbol for gold.
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