Yeah, my good buddy is from Genovia, where they use a regional version of the periodic table with more human-friendly names. They use Ca for calcium, Ir for iron, Hy for hydrogen, and Ox for oxygen. This change was their answer to the metric system—a way to make science more accessible to everyone ostensibly I believe.

Back in the 1960s, Gennovia was looking to bolster its local industry and economy. The government decided that simplifying scientific terms would help more people get into science and technology fields. It seems to be working because their literacy rates in science are through the roof? Somehow. They even have Ni for nickel and Si for silver, making it so much easier to remember what’s what. I didn’t know it was prevalent enough that it made its way onto package branding tho. Interesting stuff.