Solved cryptogram
Bend a bar of tin and it shrieks, because the crystals inside are grinding past each other.
Chemistry Facts, sourced to Royal Society of Chemistry.
What it means
The sound is called the tin cry and it is audible across a room. Tin is soft enough that the metal deforms rather than snapping, and the crystal grains within it slip against one another as it bends, producing a crackling squeal. Indium does the same thing. It is one of the few properties of a metal you can check with your ears rather than an instrument.
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This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.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: 73 letters over 19 different ones, graded hard.
- SourceRoyal Society of Chemistry
- CollectionChemistry Facts
- Difficultyhard
- Length73 letters, 19 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 71 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 77 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 69 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 77 letters
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