Helen FieldsScience Writer

A week or so ago I went to a party that was organized around singing the Pirates of Penzance in someone’s living room. It was a great party, and it reminded me of this excellent song, to the tune of the Major General’s big moment:

I grew up on Tom Lehrer records. Of course, the kids of today, or at least the ones with cool parents, are growing up on the songs of They Might Be Giants. So, here’s a new song about elements – which, I have to admit, is a lot more educational than the Tom Lehrer one.

Fun with science!

Today I spent two hours watching a scientist do incredibly tedious work. The time actually went really fast – she does this incredibly tedious work all the time, but to me it was all new and I had a lot to figure out:

What are you pipetting?

(Sodium hydroxide solution.)

What’s that machine called?

(A rotator.)

What are those pretty liquids?

(Buffers.)

What’s in those tanks?

(Argon.)

Actually, she thought the time went fast, too. So not only did I pick up a scene for a story I’m writing, I served a purpose: entertaining the postdoc.