The Chemical Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

A Christmas Story
Thomas G. Waddell and Thomas R. Rybolt
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga. TN 37403
The followingChristmas story provides a problemin qualitative
chemical analysis, presented in mystery form in the context of the
popular and beloved characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. WatThere is a hreakin the story where the reader (studentsand
teachers) can ponder and solve the mystery. Sherlock Halmes
delivers his solution in the paragraphs followingthis break.
The Story
I rememberfondly nlcepinfilnteon that Christmas mominn near the turn of the century. Fresh snow had fallen the
night before and Holmes and I had stayed up past midnight
by the fire, smoking our briars, and recalling the many
adventures and dilemmas which other Decembers had
brought our way. Overcome by a sense of peace and wellbeing, I slept long and awoke to the sound of carriages
muffled by the deep snow and a few cheerful voices ofpeople
hurrying along Baker Street beneath my window. The air
was cold and the sky was a tone of clear blue seldom seen
in the Great Citv.
" 1 ~. u l l e dmv dressinz.. gown
., around me.
selected a favorite pipe, and went out to the living quarters
of 221B to share Christmas with mv friend and colleaeue
Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
Holmes was in his chair by the crackling fire, humming
some tune that sounded operatic, and concentrating the
rest of his energy on repairing the fmish on his precious
violin. For several weeks he had beeuso engaged, wmplaining of difficultieshe had enwuntered in producing a certain
quality color-tone in the varnish, and ignoring my urgings
and pleas to attend the new play that had opened at Covent
Garden.
"Holmes!" I cried. "What a morning!" But I could tell that
progress on his violin had stalled and, since no new case
occupied his thoughts, he was in one of his sullen moods,
totally unacceptable in my mind, even for Holmes, on a
morning like this.
Holmes did not speak to me, and, when Mrs. Hudson
knocked on our door and entered carrying a gift, wrapped
smartly in bright red paper, Holmes raised only an eyebrow.
"A gift for you, Watson, from an admirer no doubt", he
said.
"No, Mr. Holmes", Mrs. Hudson shook her head. "It's for
you! I found it on the step this morning, 'Mr. Sherlock
Holmes, Merry Christmas'the tag says."
Holmes put the violin down and took the package fmm
the outstretched arms of our fsithful landlady. Since I had
been associated with him, only on the most rare occasions
had Holmes ever received a gift of any kind, and indeed, he
reacted with concern and a grim look of suspicion. He set
the red package before him on the floor, glanced a t the tag,
and with utmost care untied the ribbon and slipped off the
wrapping paper. All this was done without agitating the
giR, as it sat before us now in a plain brown box the size of
an ale mug.

'Waddell, T. G.; Rybolt, T. R. J. Chem. Educ. 1989, 66,981.

'Waddell, T. G.;Rybolt T. R. J. Chem. Ed=. 1990, 67,1007.

A bead of sweat mlled down Holmes'long forehead a s he

removed from the box a clear unlabeled jar containing a dry
white solid.
"Watson", he looked up at me, "recall the names of our
most recent foes."
"Holmes", I replied, " this is only a gift. It is Christmas,
my good fellow. Someone has honored you with a token of
their esteem."
"Names, Watson", he sternly countered snapping his
fingers impatiently. 'The unusual angle and unevenness of
the tag's lettering is not characteristic of a natural handwriting. It is clear the person who is the source of this gift
is attempting to disguise his true identity. Who might
benefit by revenge served up to us in the season of cheer?"
"Well, Holmes, there's always Moriarty. But its seems to
me that Porlanto the embezzler, Gladson the poisoner, or
Kilburn, the one who murdered his stepchildren, are more
likely suspects at this time."
"Capital!" Holmes rubbed his hands together and carried
the iar to his chemical research table in the darkened
corner of our flat. As Mrs. Hudson and I celebrated Christmas Dav alone with a masted eoose and three varieties of
her famous pies, Holmes work;ed feverishly. We heard an
occasional grunt or exclamation from the comer accompanied by the accustomed clank of glassware and shuffling of
equipment. At 10:30 Christmas night, Holmes reappeared.
I expected a look of triumph, since on other occasions,
Holmes' chemical researches always led to startling revelations. This time, however, a look of confusion shadowed
his hawklike features.
"The substance is easily puritied by sublimation, Watson.
It is heat stable and definitely not an explosive. Moreover,
I waxed our little mouse friend from his hole by laying out
some ham covered with the material. He devoured it, Watson, and I observed him scampering about all day, with no
ill effects. Thus, it is not a toxin or a drug either! If this is
a n act of revenge, does the perpetrator expect me to sprinkle his poison into my own porridge? There are dark waters
here. Watson. sinister anddark waters."
!
it as such", I said, showing my
"1t;s a giR, ~ o l m e sAccept
impatience for his annoying lack of Christmas spirit.
Sherlock Holmes turned and paced, ignoring my appeal.
"I have measured a melting point of 118-120 "Celsius and
i t turns litmus from blue to red. It is decidedly a carbon
compound, but of what type and of what purpose is not
clear. However, I can say with a great deal of confidence
that i t contains 68.8% carbon and 4.9% hydrogen by
weight."
I reolied gentlv. "There is an hour of Christmas left. Join
Mrs. ~ u d s o nan2 me in a celebration of this holy season."
I felt the same kindness toward him that I alwavs had. But
Holmes is always Holmes, thank God. "In du; time, my
friend, in due t i e " , he said "I have one more observation
to make and I will have part of this mystery solved."
He disa~oearedagain. and this time Mrs. Hudson and I
waited bGhc hearth. ~ h c s t o l elittlesad glances at meover
the rimsofherrrlassesand I, inan ever-swellinr!Christmas
spirit, was becoming more amused as time
and as I
Volume 68 Number 12 December 1991

1023

reflected on the character of the World's Greatest Consulting Detective.

Without a sound, Holmes appeared behind my chair.
"A water insoluble organic compound, soluble in alkali",
he somberly stated. After making this strange announcement he strode arroeantlv to the window and looked out
over Baker Street an2 thegas lamps glowing under caps of
snow. He stared into the night for what seemed a n endless
time, but when he fmally moved, I pulled out my pocket
watch and found only ten minutes had passed.
He strode to the dusty corner of the room and returned a
moment later with a flask in his left hand and a spatula
containing a small quantity of the mysterious carbon compound in his right hand. "If my suspicions are correct, the
addition of this compound should result in the evolution of
gas from this solution of bicarbonate of sodium. He poured
the white powder into the colorless liquid in the flask. As
he swirled the flask, he looked directly a t me.
Stop Here and Solve the Mystery
This mystery can be solved by applying chemical principles and deductions. Can you answer these questions?
(1) What organic compound was given to Holmes?
(2) Who eave the comoaund to Holmes?
I3 For u hat purpose urns the compound given? The following

p a r a ~ ~ a p hamtmn
i
Holmes'~chemlcal svluuun ur the
mystery. Compare your solution to his.

The Solution
Mrs. Hudson and I remained seated. mesmerized bv the
tiny bubbles rising in the flask.
Suddenly he turned and pointed a long white fmger. "You,
Watson, yon!" he shouted. 'You are the perpetrator!"
Mrs. Hudsongasped with horror. "Mr. Holmes!" she cried.
"Have pity a t Christmas time. Have you lost all reason?"
Holmes's eves were mere slits andhis brow was furrowed
and he kept pointing a t me. Unlike Mrs. Hudson, I was not
shocked. I was, on the contrary, quite overcome with laughter. As I was so engaged, Holmes stomped around the flat
howling with unrelentina frustration. But after a few minutes h e began to calm down a s I knew be would, and he
approached us sheepishly. After another minute or two he
chuckled like the gentle old friend he was.
"Ah, Watson. When I discovered that the Christmas substance was neither a n explosive nor a poison, the mystery
took on a new slant. Was revenge the motive? If so, how? If
not, what was the purpose of the white substance? Its
identification was then crucial, and, fortunately, a trivial
matter of standard qualitative organic analysis.
"The substance is clearly benzoic acid, Watson. You knew
it as well a s I do now. How vour usual oDen countenance
hid your involvement is truly amazing to me."
"Well. Holmes". I smiled. "With vow tirade I hardlv had
a chance to stop you and before t<at, well, I . . ."
"You took me in, Watson." My friend shook his head and
his eyes sparkled. "You are victorious a t my own game so
to speak."
"Well, I must say, Holmes, things did not go a s I had
expected. I anticipated vou would turn aside from these
chemical endeavois e a r k r a n d I could announce to you the
true ~dentitvand v u r ~ o wof the mviiterinui; comvound. In
that regard;l am afraid your persisience exceeded evenmy
expectations. I did not mean to waste your entire Christmas day on this chemical analysis.
"Waste of time?" said Holmes. "Mv dear fellow the use of
one's mind is never a waste of time; No, now that I reflect
upon it calmly, it made the gift all the more enjoyable. What
better way to spend one's time than in the pursuit of truth
through the use of deduction and the scientific method. I t

1024

Journal of Chemical Education

was a delightful Christmas and tomorrow I shall start anew

on my violin finish."
"But what were the bubbles of gas?" I asked.
Holmes shwk his head back and forth and said, 'Your
knowledge of chemistry leaves much to be desired. Carbon
dioxide. of course. Acharacteristic test for a carboxvlic acid.
The addition of a carboxylic acid such as benzoi; acid to
bicarbonate of sodium releases carbon dioxide gas. Mv
earlier litmus test showed I was dealing with an acid anh
the oreanic com~ound'sinsolubilitv in water and solubilitv
in alkkine poiked in tbis directi"on. Only a few types df
organic compounds have such characteristics. But I had to
besure before I accused you of perpetrating this hoax. You
did continue to insist it was a gift, and only the giver of a
giR could know that fnrcertnin<o 1 finiilly h;gnn
suspert
you." 'Well, what of the long minute6 stnrinr: out the window," I said. "In what projectwere you engaged during that
time?" "Proportions, my dear fellow", he said.
"What?"
'You see, Watson, we have two simple laws provided for
us by the Frenchman, John Proust, and the Englishman,
John Dalton. Proust gave us the law of definite proportion
and Dalton the law of multiple proportion. The first law
tells us that a compound contains the same proportion of
elements by weight. The second law tells us that the ratios
of these weights may he converted to simple whole numbers
based upon the atomic weights."
"l'm afraid I still don't see, Holmes."
"Consider the specific case. If carbon is 12 times the
weight of hydrogen, then it is a simple matter to deduce
that 68.8 divided by12 is 5.73 and 4.9 divided by one, of
course, remains 4.9. Then 5.73 divided by 4.9 is 1.17, but
the key question is what simple whole number ratio gives
this same ratio. As I examined the possibilities, it was clear
that 7 divided by 6 gives the same ratio of 1.17. So the law
of multiple proportion tells us that the compound contains
seven carbons for everv six hvdroeens."
"
"But the time", I said.
"As I stared into the nieht". Holmes interiected. "1considered a number of poss~bilities and it bkame'clear the
remainine26.3 % of the weight could be made un ofoxveen.
"
Oxygen has a weight of 16'iimc.i that of hvdr&n so 26.3
divided by 16gives 1.64and4.9 divided by l.Mgivesa ratio

~.

o
f :<
..
.. "

"So there must be three hvdroeens

for everv one oxveen".
"
"- .
I said with a smile.
d
acid is a com"Exactlv. rieht!" he replied. " ~ n benzoic
pound with seven carbons, six hydrogens, and two oxygens.
Reallv, it's elementaw. mv dear Watson. elementarvmath."
M ~ SHudson
.
had- haidly recovered from her confused
state. "But if Dr. Watson sent vou that chemical. Mr.
Holmes, for Heaven's sake why? &d why all the mystery?
Why did he not sien the giR?"
~ b l m e happily'filled
s
Lis pipe with shag tobacco. "Benzoic acid can be used as a background for violin varnish,
Mrs. H u d ~ o n .Afact
~ . ~ Dr. Watson no doubt obtained from
one of London's few Italian violin makers. Dr. Watson,
despite his jealousy over the attention my instrument has
gotten lately, has given a aenuine -gift. Watson. vou have
;he true spiht of ~hristmas!"
"You do zive me too much credit, Ilolmrs". I stammered.
"On the &ntrary, my good fellow! Look! 12s two minutes
to midnight. Amoment left. Merry Christmas, Mrs. Hudson! Merry Christmas, Watson."
3Kingzen'sChemicalEncyclopedia, 7th ed.; R. K. Strong, ed.; Van
Nostrand. NY, 1946, p 461.
4W. Thomasson,violin maker, Chattanooga, TN, personal communication,