Solved cryptogram
Xenon is a noble gas that can put a patient to sleep, though nobody agrees on quite how.
Chemistry Facts, sourced to Royal Society of Chemistry.
What it means
Noble gases are supposed to be chemically inert, so an anesthetic effect is a genuine puzzle. Xenon appears to work by physically blocking certain receptors in the nervous system rather than by reacting with anything. It is an excellent anesthetic on the merits, with rapid onset and few side effects, and it is barely used because extracting it from air is expensive.
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This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.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: 69 letters over 20 different ones, graded hard.
- SourceRoyal Society of Chemistry
- CollectionChemistry Facts
- Difficultyhard
- Length69 letters, 20 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 77 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 73 letters
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- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 77 letters
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Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 71 letters
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- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 75 letters