this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2024
1000 points (99.8% liked)

Science Memes

9978 readers
1773 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

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

Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

Sister Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
1000
there are worse hills to die on (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
30 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
all 32 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 145 points 5 months ago (5 children)

Wikipedia's hall of fame of stupid edit wars has some pretty entertaining sections.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago

most wikipedia thing ever to start the joke page with a link to the article defining “humor”.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago

That really was entertaining

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago

This was hilarious. Thank you for the read.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

This link was a morning ruining rabbit hole.

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

that's beautiful. thank you

[–] [email protected] 132 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Scientist: Finds the most useless element.
Also scientist: Names it after France 💀💀

[–] threelonmusketeers 39 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Well, they already got Gallium. (Gaul)

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

Gallium explodes people who call it a stupid element. (it used in the plutonium pits of atomic bombs)

[–] [email protected] 81 points 5 months ago

The end reads like a bad Amazon review or something and it cracks me up.

Absolute dogshit isotope and its synthetic siblings are just the same but worse

1/5 stars

[–] [email protected] 45 points 5 months ago

I'll probably remember francium forever now, so there's that.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Francium has been one of my favourite elements since before I was a teenager, I'm 35 and this hasn't changed...this person needs to learn to have fun.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 5 months ago

I think they did have fun writing this edit. 😄

[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Well I'm convinced of the position, should I go get the pitchforks?

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

Unfortunately the pitchforks were made out of Francium and they vaporized and cooked everyone.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Could someone please explain the “he (the genie) would just give it to you” part?

This aside has me curious about motivations etc.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I think the joke is that he doesn't have to monkey's paw the wish at all to screw you over for wishing for it

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

Thanks.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 5 months ago (3 children)

my interpretation of it is: when you ask a genie for something they’ll give it to you, but with a nasty twist. e.g., if you ask for a lot of money they’ll say okay, then give you the money, and then tell you it’s all marked notes from a recent bank robbery or something.

but since this element is so stupid, there’s no twist necessary. the element itself is the nasty surprise.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago

when you ask a genie for something they’ll give it to you, but with a nasty twist

And if I remember correctly, it's about asking a wish with precise, thoughtful phrasing, or it's going to backfire.

"Your wish is my command."
"I don't want to see my mother-in-law ever again."
Boom! Makes him blind.

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

Oh I see. I never associated monkey’s paw type twists with the genie tale. Perhaps I need to re-read the source myths.

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

Monkeys paw = you get what you asked for but it takes a nasty path to get there. Example from the OG story, the parents ask for money, then their son dies, and they get the insurance money.

Genie = chooses to ignore the spirit of the wish and gives you something that technically meets the criteria. Ex: you ask for a "hot chick", and get a boiling hot baby chicken.

You can try to work around the genie's trickery with more and more precise wording till there isn't any ambiguity. The monkey will fuck you over anyway, because fuck you, that's why.

99.99% of the comments on r/monkeyspaw are just granting wishes like they're genies and not like they're a monkey's paw, and it rubs me the wrong way.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Isn't it also one of those salt elements that just explodes instantly if it contacts water?

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

It is indeed in the alkali metal group

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

How did we even study it if it decays in less than an hour?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 months ago

Study it in 45 minutes

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago

a half life of 30min, doesn't mean there won't be anything left after 60min. After 60min there will be a half of the half left over, and after 90min - half of the half of the half, and so on

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Maybe they knew someone named Francis?

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

They're not wrong.