That's a hilarious book: "There was a jar which I had not noticed before containing potassium metal. I knew that potassium was a silvery metal, but this was one inch spheres, green with the oil in which they were immersed. I removed two for a collection of elements we were starting at Columbia High, scraped off the oil and put the marbles in my handkerchief which I added to a collection of miscellaneous glassware in my back pocket. "
https://archive.org/details/gergel_isopropyl_bromide