Solved cryptogram
Platinum speeds up reactions without being used up, which is what a catalytic converter does.
Chemistry Facts, sourced to Royal Society of Chemistry.
What it means
A catalyst offers a surface where molecules can meet in a favorable arrangement, lowering the energy needed for them to react, and it emerges unchanged. In a car exhaust, platinum and its relatives convert carbon monoxide and unburned fuel into carbon dioxide and water. The metal is not consumed, which is why converters are worth stealing and worth recycling.
The claim comes from Royal Society of Chemistry, and the page it comes from was read on 2026-08-27 to confirm it still says this.
This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.
Solve it yourself
This fact is a cryptogram here: 77 letters over 20 different ones, graded medium.
- SourceRoyal Society of Chemistry
- CollectionChemistry Facts
- Difficultymedium
- Length77 letters, 20 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 69 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 77 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 75 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 74 letters
About as hard as this one
Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 71 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 73 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 73 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 73 letters