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Lewisite
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<p>Lewisite (L) (A-243) is an <a href="/facts/Organoarsenic_compound/BW425S1q">organoarsenic compound</a>. It was once manufactured in the U.S., Japan, Germany and the Soviet Union for use as a <a href="/facts/Chemical_warfare/zT4t2DGk">chemical weapon</a>, acting as a <a href="/facts/Vesicant/5w33WIKa">vesicant</a> (blister agent) and <a href="/facts/Lung/gTWXI6Fj">lung</a> irritant. Although the substance is colorless and odorless in its pure form, impure samples of lewisite are a yellow, brown, violet-black, green, or amber oily liquid with a distinctive odor that has been described as similar to <a href="/facts/Pelargonium/7zKz0Wmj">geraniums</a>. </p><p>Lewisite is named after the US chemist and soldier <a href="/facts/Winford_Lee_Lewis/4tIGBDqz">Winford Lee Lewis</a> (1878–1943). Lewisite finds no other applications; a chemist from the United States Army's chemical warfare laboratories said that "no one has ever found any use for the compound". </p>