I was never in any version of the Boy Scouts. My memory of it is my mother asking me in primary school if I wanted to join up and answering her “No, it’s silly.” Maybe it was my eternal distain for all things conformist or the blatant slant of the whole organization. A few weeks ago I was introduced to a new scout organization by my friend Dan, The “Order of the Science Scouts of Exemplary Repute and Above Average Physique.” They state that members are:
- not opposed to alcohol
- fond of IPCC reports (especially the pictures)
- mostly in agreement with the “truth”
- into badges
- grieving for the slow and miserable death of the Hubble Space Telescope
- possibly possessed of supernatural powers
- not in the business of total world domination
- committed to the constant and diligent presentation of science stories, be it to editors, producers, directors, educators, relatives and/or friends of various ilk, in an effort to lessen the gap that is this thing we call public scientific literacy
So the general idea is to promote science literacy and have fun. Who can argue with that. Seeing that I followed or supported most of those claims and that it was just a cool group of people, I petitioned to become a member and got in!
In the spirit of this merry band I claim my badges earned thus far.
Taking science
This is what I do, it’s about 66% of my life right now. Also, I am a complete geek and will share whatever I know with anybody who will listen (or not). If you can teach biochemistry to a bunch of acupuncture students (or at least try), half of whom have not had any chemistry (or not since high school), I think you deserve this badge.
The “MacGyver” Badge
One of my favorite shows as a kid, but this skill allowed me to save me from my own idiocy. Three separate times I left my favorite type of gel pen in a shirt breast pocket proceeded to put it in the wash. I’ll let that stupidity sink in for a moment… In the worst case I had no less than 6 shirts get hit. Usually the worst hit was not the shirt that held the pen. With my knowledge of organic solvents and some trial and error, I found that dimethyl sulfoxide was the most effective cleaner for this type of pen ink. Combined with Oxiclean and persistence the protocol will remove almost all of this type of ink. Even after the garment was been put through a dryer.
I’m pretty confident around an open flame
You need that borosilicate glass pipette flame polished or drawn out?
Destroyer of quackery
Ask my mother about our “triple helix” DNA or “laser memory water” conversations.
has frozen stuff just to see what happens Levels I, II, and III
When I was a kid I froze insects (mostly bees and flies) to see how low they would survive.
A bee can last at least 3 hours in the freezer incased in ice if you were wondering. Frozen in air they don’t last as long (I forget the number). Too bad there are no badges for microwave oven use. Once I got access I began freezing flowers, fruit, balloons and chewing gum. They balloon in liquid nitrogen was the most fun. Try it! Careful though, frostbite from liquid nitrogen is quite nasty.
I’ve done science with no conceivable practical application
One word, nitrotyrosine.
Somewhat confused as to what scientific field I actually belong to
Chemistry, physics, biology? You tell me.
Has worked with acids
I’ve used WAY too much TFA.
What I do for science dictates my having to wash my hands before I use the toilet
I wash more when I do synthesis or work under BL2 conditions.
Experienced with electrical shock III
Beware of plugging a night light in (while it’s dark) and gel electrophoresis.
