How many scientists does it take?
It took three of us to work out how to get liquid out of this stupid bottle of lab disinfectant, which is plugged permanently with a purpose-built green plastic thing where you’d expect the opening to be. Instead, you have to allow the liquid to flow into the little side tunnel which dispenses only about a milliliter at a time, with the operator having to tip it all the way back and all the way forward again at a precise angle to reload it. At this rate, it took me five minutes to milk out 50 mL.
My question is, why? What crazy control-freak designer thought it would be a good idea not to allow users to pour exactly how much liquid they wanted to all in one go?
In other news, in a real “who’s on first” moment later on this afternoon, one post-doc kept asking another, “Have we got heaps?”
“Heaps of what?”
“Heaps!”
“Heaps of heaps?”
After a few more rounds of this, it transpired that they were actually talking about HEPES buffer.
‘PIPES’ is another one…
I pronounce it “hee-pees”. Is that right or wrong? Is there even a right or wrong? I know how to pronounce “herpes” but that’s rarely relevant in a non-virus lab setting.
He-pees reminds me too much of heebie jeebies.
I believe the Brits call it ‘heeps’ whereas those of a more North American persuasion go with the two-syllable variant.
I think that’s how I do… Heh PehS just as the letters are pronounced… in Swedish 😉 completly strange I’m sure.
I get strange lokos when I say “pnaaaas” with an opensounded ‘ah’ sound. I mean the journal, but people here don’t seem to talk about it as an abbrevation?!!
Hahaha.
There’s a good reason English speakers don’t call it “penas”.
Jenny> I know 🙂 but it gets me most times anyway….
The reason for the bottle design (with which I have also struggled) – try and take a swig out of it.
Um, I call it PENAS, mainly because I know everyone knows what I’m talking about – but you can still detect a flicker of puerile amusement across your colleagues face.
Yes, and I’m one of the HEAPS people.
Here’s another one for you – is it IMID-azole or IM-ID-AY-zole?
…or IMIDE-azole?
Jim – how come every bottle in the lab isn’t like that if it’s just to keep suicidal PhD students from topping themselves? If I were going to drink something deadly, I’d be more likely to head for the acids cabinet – all of which are easily pourable.
I don’t think I’ve ever said Imidazole out loud before! I think I’d put the emphasis on the A…
Don’t you love it when you find a word you’ve never said out loud before?
Equally, how funny is it when you come to write a word that you’ve only ever spoken?
I get in more trouble when saying somebody’s name out loud at a conference presentation.
Turns out that how it sounded in my head for the past 5 years is not quite how it sounds to the actual person in question. Ouch.
I did a postdoctoral stint in the Netherlands, so now I always get cross when people mispronounce Dutch surnames.
Come on, guys: it’s Hans CLAY-vers, not CLEE-vers. It’s not that difficult to remember! But the Dutch are the sort that are so Anglocentric in language that I think they think it’s cool to be mispronounced in English. Sort of a mark that you’ve “arrived” on the international scene.