Mercury Is Fun BOISE IDAHO (idaho) - You may remember Mercury from the periodic table. It shows up as "Hg" with an atomic number of 80. Often called "quicksilver," it's been used in a number of items including household thermometers. It's highly toxic and somewhat mysterious. Boise State Radio's Adam Cotterell breaks down Mercury beyond the periodic table to find out why there's so much attention over this liquid metal. © Copyright 2009, idaho