Solved cryptogram
Nitrogen makes up about four fifths of the air you breathe, and almost none of it reacts.
Chemistry Facts, sourced to Royal Society of Chemistry.
What it means
You inhale far more nitrogen than oxygen with every breath, and it passes straight back out again. The gas is essentially inert because the two atoms in a nitrogen molecule are locked together by a triple bond that takes a great deal of energy to break. Lightning can do it, and so can certain bacteria, which is the only reason nitrogen from the air ever reaches a plant.
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This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.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: 71 letters over 20 different ones, graded hard.
- SourceRoyal Society of Chemistry
- CollectionChemistry Facts
- Difficultyhard
- Length71 letters, 20 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 73 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryeasy, 74 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 77 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 76 letters
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Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
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- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 76 letters
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