Like anywhere else, you will find all sorts of characters among scientists. Think about this: everything humans have created is so complex and diverse because it reflects the minds behind it. Just think of relationships or laws. And basically, that’s the same in science.
So let’s inspect the surprising, puzzling and fun side of science, the one you may not have expected or the one you never really took seriously. You may find that at a few of these fun science websites, there are some odd things going on. Seriously.
PhD Comics
In this case PhD stands for Piled Higher and Deeper and it’s “a comic strip about life (or the lack thereof) in academia.” The mind behind the comic is Jorge Cham, who holds a real PhD in Mechanical Engineering.
Most comic strips are actual cartoons, giving you a glimpse into the crazy life of a PhD student or PostDoc. Some comics, however, reveal the frustrating reality of life in academia.
Science Tattoo Emporium
The science tattoo emporium is a fun science website project hosted by Discover Magazine. As you may have guessed it features scientists with their scientific tattoos. Today, tattoos are quite average, aren’t they? It’s not all about analysis in science and this projects reveals the creative and playful side of scientists. Of course it’s also crazy to have the main subject of your job tattooed onto your body. But it’s not surprising because it takes a lot of passion to do science.
The image below shows “The Tree of Life – carbon, glucose, light, DNA, and the golden rectangle. A tattoo by Kevin Riley. On the chest of a PhD student in molecular biology.”
Neatorama
Neatorama is a blog that features interesting stories from the world of science in its broadest sense. It’s a very good read.
However, Neatorama is not your average blog, the creator had some ingenious ideas. The blog works a little like Digg. The difference is that you are required to submit your own work, rather than that by others. Literally anyone can write for Neatorama and add themselves to the site’s “upcoming Queue”. Readers vote on the posts in the queue and the best ones make it to the front page.
This awesome concept guarantees that you’ll only read about genuinely interesting stuff. Thankfully, the voters seem to have a healthy sense of humor and so most posts are hilarious. Isn’t the finding that drinking beer improves bone density one of the best news ever?
NCBI ROFL
NCBI is the National Center for Biotechnology Information and NCBI’s PubMed is a standard database where scientists across the globe search for research articles. ROFL is an internet acronym for Rolling On Floor Laughing.
NCBI ROFL presents funny articles found on NCBI’s PubMed. The blog is run by two Molecular and Cell Biology graduate students who procrastinate a lot. At least they remain productive and we can enjoy the result.
May I remind you that all this published research is or was officially funded? Someone decided we needed to find out about things such as the nature of injuries caused by falling coconuts, what type of people enjoy playing bingo in later life, whether accidental anal intercourse really happens, and whether garlic protects against vampires.
Before you start worrying about your tax money, calm down. The studies may not be as ridiculous as they sound. After all scientists know how to catch your attention, too.
Null Hypothesis
It’s The Journal of Unlikely Science and it’s all about the tough questions in science. The kind that drive scientists and parents crazy. You’ll find the most interesting, weird and ridiculous stories on this website.
One article deals with the question “What would happen, if we all dropped down dead?“, how would a world without men look like? Another addresses taste buds and how to trick them. In a recent story, the author recapitulates how people in the past predicted what would never be possible and how the future proved them wrong. And didn’t you ever want to know whether the early bird really catches worms?
Improbable Research
Improbable Research covers “research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.” The organization publishes the magazine “Annals of Improbable Research” and they administer the infamous Ig Nobel Prizes. Each year the most incredible and imaginative research projects in the categories nutrition, peace, archaeology, biology, medicine, cognitive science, economics, physics, chemistry, and literature are awarded with this prize.
Year-round the blog features scientific studies that entertain, spark public interest, make people curious, and get them interested in science. Are you prepared for some mind boggling questions from the world of science?
If you would like to discover the scientist in yourself, how about trying some fun experiments at home? Sara has covered 6 fun science websites that will help to unleash the mad scientist within yourself.
Who would have thought that science can be fun? Did we change your mind? I hope I could give you a new perspective and make you laugh.
Image Credit: clix
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