We love a good joke. And if it’s nerdy, too? Well, that’s just the cherry on top, isn’t it? Content that makes you think a bit to get a laugh has a lot of fans online. Not only is it witty but it also stands to pique your curiosity. The next thing you know, you’ve spent hours researching a niche topic! Honestly, that’s part of the fun.
The ‘Bad Science Jokes’ group on Facebook is a celebration of everything scientific and humorous. Members of this tight-knit community share the wittiest science-related memes they come across. They’re as smart as they are hilarious, and we couldn’t wait to share our favorite ones with you. Scroll down to see the best of the best. Hopefully, they’ll make your inner geek and pun-lover giggle!
Bored Panda got in touch with the creator of 'Bad Science Jokes,' Melissa Church, who was kind enough to tell us all about the project's history and shared some advice about making STEM more appealing to students. You'll find our interview with her below.
More info: Facebook (Group) | Facebook (Page) | Instagram | Tumblr | Instagram (Church) | TikTok
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Who was it that said sufficiently advanced science appears to be magic? (Or something to that effect.)
Originally, Church started 'Bad Science Jokes' over a decade ago on Tumblr. "Since then, it branched off to every corner of the web. Bad Science Jokes, these days, is mainly on Instagram with 800k followers looking for the latest in bad science humor! I think science and educational memes resonate with so many people because so many people can relate," she told Bored Panda in an email.
"The humor doesn't need to be at a PhD level. Bite-sized one-liners can help people learn and laugh at the same time! A great science meme is just that, something everyone can smile at," she said.
We were curious to get Church's thoughts on what could make science more appealing to students, as well as what anyone hoping to switch careers to something more STEM-related might want to consider.
"I appreciate the push the last couple of decades have done to try to increase STEM awareness. I think the main thing society itself needs to do is show STEM fields are a cool, interesting, needed career path. Having more people see scientists in the real world being just as cool as the latest trend is what's going to bring people to more highly consider STEM fields," Church told Bored Panda.
"I think middle and high schools should push more experiments in lessons—I know that's asking a lot—but from what I hear that is something that helped push tons of children to pursue STEM careers. The excitement of lab day in school!" she said.
"The only advice I would give to someone who is looking at getting into a STEM field is to ensure you truly enjoy the path you're potentially changing to. There's a lot of work to be done in STEM fields. Be sure you know what you're getting into by asking others in the field, or online, what to expect in the day-to-day. You should always be prepared when making a big jump into a new career!"
Go for the intestinal lining, which replaces itself completely every four days or so. Higher refresh rate ;)
Something that recently captured our imaginations was the successful launch of the Europa Clipper mission. The spacecraft, which is meant to conduct a detailed study of Jupiter’s moon Europa, will spend nearly 6 years traveling 1.8 billion miles across our solar system to its destination.
If all goes well, the craft should arrive in orbit around Jupiter by April 2030 (if you’re reading this then, hi, Future Pandas!). From there, the Europa Clipper will conduct 49 close flybys of Europa, every two to three weeks.
The reason why the Europa Clipper won’t be orbiting Europa is because of the intense radiation zone around the moon, which would fry the nine sensitive science instruments housed within the spacecraft.
NASA writes: “There is strong evidence Jupiter’s moon Europa has a saltwater ocean that may be one of the best places to look for environments where life could exist beyond Earth.”
So, being the space nerds that we are, we’re extremely excited to find out the results of all the experiments the spacecraft will conduct from 2030 onward. We’ll be breathlessly following the developments.
And speaking of geeky space things, yours truly has sent their name to Mars on previous NASA missions. It’s a ton of fun to be a symbolic part of something so huge. Keep an eye out for future missions if you want to do something similar.
Staying up to date with science news is a fun pastime of ours. Not only is it enjoyable to feel like you’re on top of the latest developments in your areas of interest but it also gently reframes your perspective. The facts that we learned in school, while useful in a general sense, might not exactly be the cutting-edge information that they used to be back then.
Jeff Foxworthy: "If bacteria is the only culture you have, you might be a redneck."
It’s tough to find the time and energy to be curious about the scientific world if you’ve got a full-time job, have kids, are studying for a degree, or have any number of other important responsibilities.
The easiest thing to do after a busy day is to binge some TV shows on the couch. While that’s cozy and comfortable and a good break once in a while, it’s not the best for our bodies and minds.
Taking even a few minutes to exercise, study something new, or work on that creative project of yours (the one you keep procrastinating on) is worth the effort. All of that minuscule incremental progress quickly adds up!
So, for instance, if you find that you’ve been completely detached from the scientific world since high school ended, you could intentionally start reading one or two short articles from reputable sources every day.
Little by little, you’ll work your way up to more in-depth analyses and research papers. You never know, it might be the impulse you need to continue your education, whether in a scientific field or something else.
Surprisingly, it does. Although, in general, people don't look at Wikipedia but Tiktok, but yeah.
The project has been a mainstay on social media for a long while now. The ‘Bad Science Jokes’ group was first created on Facebook in (the long-forgotten age of) 2017.
Now, the community is celebrating over 7 years of sharing quality comedic content with other users of the social network. Considering how much social media users enjoy memes, we see the group enjoying its popularity for many more years to come.
I think it's more like the pause when today's slowest member feeds the predator.
Thingy bob is that really essential item that you use everyday and your brain temporarily erases its incredibly easy name from your memory
Currently, 39.1k Facebook users follow ‘Bad Science Jokes.’ However, this group isn’t the project’s only claim to fame. There’s also a ‘Bad Science Jokes’ Facebook page, with 282k followers and 242k likes, as well as the massively popular Instagram page with 801k followers. And let's not forget the Tumblr account that started it all!
What’s your relationship with science like, dear readers? What are your favorite niches and topics? How do you manage to stay up to date with all of the latest developments when there are so many things going on in the world? Which of these memes from ‘Bad Science Jokes’ made you smile and laugh the most?
Let us know in the comments! Oh, and if you know anyone in your social circle who appreciates a good science joke, be sure to send them this list while they’re at work or busy studying. We’re sure they could use a break.
Where do you find out how much a pie weighs? Somewhere over the rainbow...........
When standing in front of the store: "Can't find it man, it's not there."
This only works if we assume the 50% of humans who disappeared also left behind 50% of their gut bacteria, which would be pretty messy and I think we'd have spotted that in those documentaries they made about it.
This whole percentage of water thing seems to vary widely between 60 and 90 percent depending on what post. Can we just decide on a number?
False: This is pretty good. But the best pick up line is either A) Ninja Sex Party for the song Why I Cry saying "Girl, you know how I feel about you. It's like you're a fossil sample and I'm an impatient paleontologist; 'Cause I want to date you badly", or B) Dug from the movie Up saying "I was hiding under your porch, because I LOVE YOU"
Quite a few good ones. I've seen some before, but this was a collection worthy of BP.
Quite a few good ones. I've seen some before, but this was a collection worthy of BP.