Question

what relevance does the song "We didn't start the fire" by billy Joel relate to stereochemistry in organic chemistry? Can you give an example using a molecule?

Answer 1

The lyrics are made by a list of events that Joel felt his generation was not responsible for, amongst those Thalidomide.
It all begins with Harry Truman (1945- 1953, making him the president at the time of Bill's birth), then goes on through all the things that had happened in the world through out his life until he was forty.

As for the significance of Thalidomide, well ... it was thought to be a 'safe' medicine. It was a drug, which after years of extensive animal tests, was first marketed as an over-the-counter sedative, so pregnant women took it to sleep better. Turned out over 8,000 (in Europe) babies were born without extremities, sometimes legs, sometimes arms, sometimes all, because of the drug. Here we had somewhat tougher laws regarding the FDA approving a new drug, so there were just about 6 babies brn with defects (or at least that is what the media tells).

Example of such molecule:

thalidomide