Friday, September 24, 2010

Lab Quote Friday #4

This week is a little lacking in humorous quotes because I didn't spend much time around the students during lab.  I'll try to do better next week, but next week's labs are kind of easy and don't actually require much time in the lab at all.  So, if you have some funny lab quotes (and I know some of you do), please send me a separate email and I'll work in your quotes when mine are lacking.  Thanks!
(Remember, my thoughts are in this color.)

So the water in our labs is sometimes extremely aerated.  Extremely, as in fill up your beaker and 3/4 of it is bubbles.  It always surprises the students and it's funny to hear their reactions.  

Lab Girl:  What is wrong with this water!?!
Professor:  It's just got a lot of air in it.  It's fine.
Lab Girl:  It's, like, vaporizing!!
If our cold water is vaporizing, we've got serious problems!

Students had to dry their filtered product in an oven for 45 minutes.  The oven was set at about 190°C (~350°F)

Lab Boy (at the end of 45 minutes):  I can just reach in there and get mine, right?  It's not too hot. 
Me:  No, you need to use the tongs and oven mitt.  It's pretty hot.
It's an oven!!!  Surely your Mom didn't let you reach into hot ovens as a child!

As I was walking down the hall during the first week of labs this semester, I overheard:
Lab Boy (to professor):  What's the most exciting thing we're going to do this semester?
Keep this boy far, far away from the bunsen burners!

See?  Not too funny this week, sorry.  While writing this, I came up with an idea for next week's post since it has the potential for being weak.  Stay tuned...

1 comment:

Shelly said...

Amber- you are too kind. If that lab boy had asked me if he could just grab the tray I would have probably let him. Survival of the species is a theory that should be embraced and practiced on a much wider scale than it currently is.