Solved cryptogram
Copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact, and hospitals have revisited copper fittings for it.
Chemistry Facts, sourced to Royal Society of Chemistry.
What it means
Copper ions punch holes in bacterial membranes and interfere with the enzymes inside, so a copper or brass surface clears itself of many microbes within hours, while stainless steel and plastic do not. Copper vessels were used to keep water and treat wounds thousands of years before anybody had a germ theory to explain why it worked.
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This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.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: 79 letters over 19 different ones, graded medium.
- SourceRoyal Society of Chemistry
- CollectionChemistry Facts
- Difficultymedium
- Length79 letters, 19 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 74 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 74 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 71 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 77 letters
About as hard as this one
Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 74 letters
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