this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2024
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Science Memes

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A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



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all 44 comments
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[–] Pantsofmagic 78 points 5 days ago (2 children)

If we re-compress the image a few more times it'll become even more of a zinger!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I don't see you posting memes.

[–] gofsckyourself 10 points 5 days ago

Do you think that disqualifies someone from providing valid criticism?

It doesn't.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 5 days ago (1 children)

If your whole thesis is derailed by one rat not behaving as you thought I'd argue your thesis is probably pretty shitty to begin with.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

Yeah what is their sample size? 2?

[–] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot 26 points 5 days ago (1 children)

One is a genius, the other's insane.

[–] qarbone 10 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Good point! Have they checked these laboratory mice to make sure their genes haven't been spliced?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago

I get the feeling that they may attempt world domination

[–] [email protected] 41 points 5 days ago

Uncritical support for comrade 42, fighting the good fight against animal exploitation.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Actually not all rats are afraid of cats. I had a lot of pet rats and some cats. While the two cats are mostly afraid and respectful of the rats, about 1/4 of the rats had no problem co-existing with the cats. Like, they saw the cat as a rat and acted like it, not afraid or anything, while another rat peed herself because she was so scared of the cats.

[–] kemsat 16 points 5 days ago

Maybe that one had gotten the toxoplasmosis

[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Assuming reincarnation, who do you think he is?

[–] [email protected] 42 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I’m guessing Henrietta Lacks, since she’s probably got a bone to pick with the research community as a whole. I bet she’s got some special accommodation with the universe to be brought back constantly as a stream of lab animals, just to fuck with the data.

Revenge is a dish best served confusingly.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Lacks

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Good idea, but she's immortal already

[–] DokPsy 5 points 5 days ago

Diogenes then

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Dodging the question but that username checks out for this thread

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago

One of Pavlov’s dogs

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 days ago

Has anyone wondered that maybe rats are the ones actually conducting experiments on scientists? I read about it in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 days ago (2 children)

wholesome animal experimentation. So cute and wholesome how they keep them in shitty cages, feed them a bland diet, and kill them the moment the experiment is over.

What a nice story.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 5 days ago (1 children)

In this story the researcher's problem was that they let the rat live and used it across multiple experiments

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I am not sure if you're being deliberately contrarian to protect cognitive dissonance, or just wildly ignorant of how studies are conducted.

In the most literal sense a study is made of a battery of experiments that are each run across a series of tests. This is also just "an experiment" colloquially since they're all testing the same area. They do not take rats from say a maze solving study, then give them diabetes for a different study, then give them a brain tumor before putting them in the decapicone (a real product).

I have stolen lab rats marked for death, I know what I'm talking about.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 days ago (1 children)

They do not take rats from say a maze solving study, then give them diabetes for a different study, then give them a brain tumor before putting them in the decapicone (a real product).

I figured, but in the meme story this is pretty explicitly what is happening.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

They're probably studying effects of diet on cognitive function.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago (2 children)

The diet experiment is presented as present tense. The cat smell experiment is described with "I once ran an experiment", part of the speaker's "thesis", which is in the past. They are clearly keeping #42 alive to be used in totally separate research, in this fictional The Onion esque scenario.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

It could be made up. Probably really.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago

I found a source that includes the second half which makes it more obvious:

Dr. Macho believes #42’s behavior is intentional and aimed specifically at him. “I caught him laughing at me once while I was trying to sort data he’d fucked up. I know what you’re thinking, ‘Can rats even laugh? And what would it look like?’ Trust me, when a rat laughs at you, you’ll know.”

When asked why he doesn’t simply exchange #42 for a less malicious rat, Dr. Macho explained, “You can’t just use an infinite number of lab rats. They start to think you’re a psycho if you keep asking for more.” Dr. Macho sighed. “I feel like I’m living in an annoying Pixar movie where I’m the bad guy – oh, wait….I’m the bad guy. I’m the evil scientist performing experiments on a sassy, smart rat. And my name is Dr. Stu Macho? Oof, yeah, I’m the wrong one here.”

Just behind Dr. Macho, #42 winked and walked directly into his food bowl.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

huh, this story is really old and of dubious origin but afaict the original websites are down and I can't be bothered going into archives.

[–] Jumi 10 points 5 days ago
[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 days ago

Hate to break it to you... 42 didn't make it the first study. In the second study they just named three troublemaker 42 again.... And he also didn't make it. After a study, all those rats just go to a big farm to live out their lives in peace. Not.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 days ago

Pinky: Gee, ~~Brain~~ #42. What are we going to do tonight?

The ~~Brain~~ #42: The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Well, yeah, but you should have seen what his cousins did trying to figure out the answer to life, the universe and everything

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Too many pixels and not enough jpeg artifacts :3

[–] SpaceNoodle 12 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

#42, you say? Was his name Frankie or Benjy?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Judging by the JPEG artifacting, this meme is old enough to be about the secret of NiCad.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

Not lead-acid?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

It's Algernon!

[–] DragonsInARoom 2 points 4 days ago

Damn, should have put a blind on him and the researcher, so he knows he's not belong researched

[–] ODuffer 5 points 5 days ago

He couldn't give a rats...