A poisonous, foul-smelling chemical compound containing arsenic, formerly used in chemistry and medicine; the radical As(CH₃)₂.
From Greek 'kakos' (bad) + 'hyle' (matter/substance) + '-yl' (chemical suffix). Scientists named this compound cacodyl because of its incredibly foul odor and toxic properties.
Cacodyl literally smells so bad that chemists working with it in the 1800s would gag and retch—one scientist described it as 'the worst smell in existence,' making it infamous in lab lore!
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