The stone that burns
“I smell brimstone! The Devil must be near!”
Long ago, that’s what someone might have said if they smelled sulfur
burning. Sulfur was called brimstone, which means “the stone that
burns.” Because it burned, and came from deep inside the earth, people
once thought it had something to do with the Devil.
Sulfur is one of the most common of all minerals. It is often found
aboveground, near volcanoes that have thrown it out while erupting. But
it is usually found deep underground, mixed with rock. Sulfur looks like
little chunks of bright, yellow glass. It burns with a blue flame and
gives off a smell like rotten eggs.
Hundreds of years ago, people discovered how to make gunpowder by mixing
sulfur with charcoal and another mineral called saltpeter. As time went
on, sulfur became used for more and more things. Today, it is used to
make medicines, tires, and many other things people use every day.
sulfur
