Scientists take their world- and life-changing work very seriously.
Whether it's charting the possibleconsequences of climate change, helping predict when we might die, or keeping tabs on nuclear weapons stockpiles, their work can take on a huge gravitas.
But we all need to unwind, and sometimes nothing feels better than the rush endorphins from laughing at a good joke. (Laughter comes with some surprising and impressive health benefits too.)
We've scoured the internet and called on our readers to help us round up some of the best, worst, and cheesiest science jokes and puns around.
Here are some of our favorites — plus an explanation in case you don't get the joke. (Warning: It's possible only scientists will find these amusing.)
Kelly Dickerson previously rounded up a bunch of these jokes, and we're re-posting them here.
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I was going to become a polymer scientist, but didn't because I thought the work would be too repetitive.
Explanation: The word "polymer" describes any material with more two types of repeating chemical units, usually in the form of a long chain. Examples include materials such as DNA (your genetic code), nylon, polyethylene terephthalate (or PETE, used in plastic bottles), pectin (in fruit), wool, cellulose (in wood), and silk.
Source: Brett Glass/@brettglass
Q: Did you hear oxygen went on a date with potassium? A: It went OK.
Explanation: The atomic symbol for oxygen and potassium are "O" and "K," respectively. They get together they spell OK.
Source: Inorganic Ventures
If the Silver Surfer and Iron Man team up, they'd be alloys.
Explanation: In chemistry, an alloy is a mixture of metals. Silver and Iron are both metals, so if these guys teamed up they wouldn't just be allies, they would be alloys too.
Source: Inorganic Ventures
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