Scientists took to Twitter on Monday to debunk the myth that science is boring by sharing the best photos of their field trips using the hashtag #BestFieldWorkPic. Here’s a photo of ecologist Michelle LaRue with some stowaway penguins:
https://twitter.com/drmichellelarue/status/590202632406323200
Or how about this one with biologist Jeffrey Carrier wrangling a nine. foot. nurse shark.
#BestFieldWorkPic Hanging on for dear life with 9' nurse waiting for help to tag, draw blood, and attach CritterCam. pic.twitter.com/BzO8bLkfY8
— Jeffrey Carrier (@SharkDoctor) April 20, 2015
Here’s another photo of ecologist and “mud enthusiast” Vanessa Tobias accidentally starting a small marsh fire.
https://twitter.com/marshprincess/status/590203038826041345
It all got started when zoologist and blogger Michelle Jewell proposed the new hashtag.
https://twitter.com/ExpatScientist/status/590158927117078528
And it’s only blown up since then. Of course not every tweet shows the… glamor of wrangling sharks. Some tweets are about the dedication to the tireless pursuit of knowledge. Here’s an exhausted ichthyologist Prosanta Chakrabarty getting ready to do some cave fishing.
My #BestFieldWorkPic is not flattering. Madagascar cavefishing-we were sick, hungry and tired:but happy on the inside pic.twitter.com/Euu0uQtrwe
— Prosanta Chakrabarty (@PREAUX_FISH) April 20, 2015
Of course you probably won’t be seeing a follow-up hashtag for this one. After the fun field day comes the hours upon hours of mundane data crunching, grant writing and the horrendous rigamarole of publication.
But it’s obviously worth it if getting to goof around in the mud is part of your job description.
my nomination for #BestFieldWorkPic group shot #Rudabanya2012 @karyne_rabey #canttakethegraymarlanymore #paleoanthro pic.twitter.com/c56zGGdLkb
— Dr. Darcy Shapiro (@darcy_shapiro) April 20, 2015
See kids? Science is fun.
Screengrab via Benjamin P. Y-H. Lee (University of Kent)/Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)