While taking group photographs in conferences, seminars, workshops, etc. Indian chemists and researchers prefer to say ‘benzene’....instead old one ‘cheese’ to make happy faces. But what do we know about benzene? As a chemist do we really know the struggle faced by the researchers to derive its structure? Who discovered benzene? Who synthesized benzene for the first time? I hope this blog will be quite useful for those who are willing to know the answers of the above mentioned questions. Benzene What we know today about benzene? Benzene is a colourless organic flammable liquid with characteristic odour which boils and freezes at 80.1 and 5.5 °C respectively. It is immiscible with water and has low density than it (water). The molecular formula of benzene is C 6 H 6 where all the C-C and C-H bonds are of equal length. Benzene is a planar aromatic molecule where all carbon atoms are SP 2 hybridized. The aromatic nature can be evidenced from its NMR spectrum. I...