Main group element chemistry at the millennium

Some of the highlights of main group element chemistry during the past deca de are reviewed. There are now 47 elements in the s- and p-blocks of the Pe riodic Table, ranging from the oldest (and lightest) element in the univers e, hydrogen, to the most recently synthesised (and heaviest) known element, (293)[118], which was first reported in 1999. On the basis of the astonish ing discoveries and developments that have been made in chemistry during th e first two millennia of the present era, the only safe prediction for the third millennium is that there will be even more spectacular, perplexing, e xhilarating, satisfying and potentially useful discoveries in main group el ement chemistry to be expected in the years that lie ahead.