Mercury is a silvery transition metal with a freezing point of -38 degrees Celsius. It is one of 2 elements that are liquid at room temperature.(The other one is Bromine) Its compounds are very toxic, but the metal by itself isn't very reactive, or absorbed well by the body. It has oxidation states of +1 and +2. It has a density of 5.48 g/cm^3.  Mercury forms many amalgams with other metals. It is pretty much just a liquid alloy. This led tom Mercury's use in extracting gold.

Mercury used to have a lot of uses. It used to be used in dental amalgams, gold extraction, even as medicine! Nowadays, Mercury is treated with great caution and is used for certain types of lights, and as a catalyst and reagent.