Oxygen

Oxygen is a chemical element essential for respiration in most living organisms and for combustion.

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The story

Your Invisible Friend, Oxygen

I am your invisible friend. You can't see me, but I am all around you. I am everywhere. When you run and jump and play, I help you go. I tickle your nose when you take a big, fresh breath of air. I help the little candles on your birthday cake have a pretty, bright flame. I make them glow so you can make a wish. Who do you think I am.

Hello. My name is Oxygen. For a very, very long time, nobody knew my name. People didn't know I was a special part of the air. But then, on August 1st, 1774, a man named Joseph Priestley found me. He was a curious scientist. He used a big, shiny glass to make the sunshine very hot on a special red rock. And poof. I came out. He saw that I made a little mouse wiggle and run super fast. I also made a candle's fire burn so bright and happy. A few years later, in 1777, another scientist named Antoine Lavoisier gave me my name. He called me Oxygen.

Now you know I am here to help you breathe. I am in the air that goes into your body and in the water you drink. The big green trees and pretty flowers are my very best friends. They make more and more of me for you to use every day. Every time you laugh, and every time you sing a happy song, I am right there with you. I give you the energy to grow big and strong. I am your friend with every single breath you take.