Ununoctium was discovered in 2002 following a number of experiments conducted at Dubna in Russia at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions. One atom was produced in 2002 and two more in 2005.

Ununoctium, more commonly known as element 118, has had a tumultuous life. In 1999 a group at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs (LBNL) announced that by smashing krypton ions (86 36 Kr) into a lead (208 ...