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Science is a lot of things. It’s a person in a lab coat experimenting with different materials as well as an astronaut bouncing around in zero gravity. It’s a geologist studying rocks and a mathematician perusing books. It’s an archeologist out on an expedition and a biologist monitoring different animal species. 

That’s the great thing about science—it’s vast. It is also useful because of discoveries that allow us to advance in this world. It is exciting because it gives us new prospects to aspire to. It is ongoing, inspiring, devastating, beautiful and, also, funny.

The list below is all about the funny side of science. The jokes, the puns, the memes, and other ridiculousness that was collected and posted on The Lighter Side of Science Facebook group. Scroll down to see our favorites.

Because science is so vast and multilayered, learning about it can be quite challenging. That’s partly because there’s so much to learn but also because it’s easy to get scared of how much there is to learn. That is where the science communication people come in. They are the ones that combine science and fun to make it appealing to all.

These are passionate people who make it their mission to spread the word of science to the common, non-science related folk. Sometimes they are researchers or medical professionals themselves and sometimes they are well-informed journalists that want the people around them to better understand the world. Either way, they are helping everyone to get excited about science.

#2

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Diane Ohlzen Report

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Panda Kicki
Community Member
11 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Our whole attict is a bat sanctuary. They fly around the house at night, catching mosquitoes and we love the little buggers. Sometime they crash in the grass and I use welding gloves to gently put them back. When I grew up a tv tower was built nearby, the poor bats got disorientated and every morning I found dozens in tve grass

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While popularizing science has been a thing since the invention of media and the printing press, the most notable figures emerged in recent years. One of them is Carl Sagan

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Sagan was an astronomer and did a lot of research into the possibility of extraterrestrial lives. However, it wasn’t his discovery or any of his 600 papers that made him famous. It was his show Cosmos that was aired in 1980 that made him undoubtedly one of the most popular scientists back in the day.

Of course, he wasn’t a nobody before he landed the show. The science community appreciated him for his research and advocacy, though some were a little put off by his speculative approach to science. Still, he taught at Harvard and then earned his position as a full-time professor at Cornell. He was also working with NASA since the inception of the US space program in the '50s. He even briefed Apollo astronauts before going to the Moon.

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He became better-known to the public after he published his best-selling science-fiction book The Dragons of Eden, which won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1977. Because of this, he was invited to write and narrate Cosmos. In it, he delved into various different topics related to space and the world around us. He told fascinating stories that got people excited about our universe.

#11

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Steven Downs Report

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Doctor Strange
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11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Remember, if it bites you and you die, its venomous. If you bite it and you die, its poisonous. If it bites itself and you die, its voodoo. If you both bite each other and neither of you die, its kinky.

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The 13-part series was well received by both the audience and the critics. It won an Emmy and a Peabody Award, and also became the most widely watched series in the history of American television and held that record for a whole decade after. As a result, Sagan became a cultural icon.

#13

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

IFLScience Report

#15

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Makenzee Jade Report

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Crybabyartist
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11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is no point in having these. Unnecessary and messy... time to phase these out... I'm staying inside with all my doors shut tight... and a blow torch in case my chair turns into a spider.

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In the show, he often said “billions and billions” referring to and emphasizing the innumerable amount of things in the universe. This became his catchphrase and a part of the cultural vocabulary in the '80s. Musicians were including it in their songs and comedians were incorporating it into their routines.

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#17

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Aleksandra Bilewicz Report

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Andy Cran
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11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

being a Brit myself and it not of any real use to me I really like this

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Furthermore, now “sagan” can be used as a unit of measurement that is equivalent to a very large number of anything (at least 4 billion or more). His name is also used when referring to the number of stars observable in the universe. This is called Sagan’s number and at the moment it’s estimated to be 300 sextillion.

#20

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

S Dharma Teg Report

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Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you put it like that, it makes you wonder what on earth they were doing? Also, what was going through the mind of the first person to milk a cow? I suppose we should just be thankful that they didn't do it to a bull first.

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#21

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

S Dharma Teg Report

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Multa Nocte
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11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love it when a 4 year old is so much more intelligent than a grown person.

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To this day, Sagan is highly admired by many. He made many people curious about the world and even nudged some towards scientific careers. And sure, this list can never compare to the perfect knowledge and entertainment balance that he achieved in his masterpiece of a series, but, hey, it’s still pretty darn funny. 

#22

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

greenisneon Report

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BrownTabby
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11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me, a Japanese speaker who has heard a love song that mentioned being “only 10cm apart”: sounds like a you problem

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#29

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Alanna Marie Fresquez-Apodaca Report

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Bookworm
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11 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In all seriousness, the regenerating teeth would be awesome but wouldn't be feasible, because permanent, non-replacing teeth were actually one of the great innovations in the evolution of mammals. If your teeth are always falling out and growing back, you never run out, but you also can't develop feeding strategies that rely on your teeth meeting up in a certain way, a.k.a chewing. Permanent teeth allowed the first mammals to start specializing teeth to do different jobs; if their teeth were all in different stages of development, it wouldn't work, because once you get beyond simple plant-tearing pegs or sharp points, your teeth have to make contact with each other the same way all the time to be useable. ('The Rise And Reign Of The Mammals' is a fascinating book if you have any interest in evolutionary history.) Edit: book title

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#31

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Christine Nicole Bagley Report

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Bec
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unlike most Internet trolls, most scientists are open to new ideas and possibilities

Flora Porter
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But they're easy to wind up. My biochemist ex could be instantly distracted as needed by asking him if a vegetable was organic. 'It's not f-ing INorganic, is it?'

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Anyone-for-tea?
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ha ha ha. Or maybe this random YouTube video with 20 views will blow this one wide open!

me McG
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Facebook is like a black hole ... where truth and time go to die.

beautiful plumage
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i like how he had to lower his mask so that we could hear him. even though it's a comic so all we really could've done is read what he could've said with the mask on.

Sonja
Community Member
11 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you look at the strange propositions some scientists have exploded, you know that a true scientist will not care where the idea comes from, only that it's interesting. Scientists know perfectly well that expert blindness is a thing and some of the most important discoveries came from scientists watching children play or the 'layman's test' where you talk with someone outside of your echo bubble about your work to get a fresh point of view. Real scientists are very open to all kinds of questions and I when I was at uni we got explicitly told not to behave as if science was gospel. Science is supposed to explain and explore things, not to risk 'organizational blindness' and groupthink. Many important discoveries have been made by people we would call laymen nowadays. Examples are Gregor Mendel, Benjamin Franklin, Otto Lilienthal and the brothers Wright. All self educated workers who never got a formal degree.

Dana Seilhan
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There actually are people on the internet with interesting ideas and far too many scientists on industry payrolls. Something's gotta give.

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#39

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

S Dharma Teg Report

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Crybabyartist
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dont go sticking your hands in those pockets, there is no loose change and if you touch me afterwards I'm gonna puke on your shirt... mucus is gross!! ITS A MUCUS pocket!! worse than a sweaty pocket!!

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#41

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Diane Ohlzen Report

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Fat Harry
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Entirely numeric passwords are a terrible idea because they're so easily brute-forced.

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#42

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

S Dharma Teg Report

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#44

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Gowtham Prithvi Report

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Jack Burton
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is actually a great answer but sadly they will tell you back how Youtube is free for people and not edited by pedo socialist satanists like the washington post

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#54

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Danielle Lawson Report

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PlatinumThe8-BitCat
Community Member
11 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am 1 on this scale, also can anyone else imagine different sides of something they’ve seen before without seeing the sides? Because if I see the side of say a bottle I am able to imagine what all other views of the bottle look like, I can also do that with rooms and I can imagine a room from a bunch of different angles and all of the people and objects in that room

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#56

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Jennifer Hammond Report

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Andy Cran
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

pmsl that should be the UK storm warning scale 😆😆😆 along with "inside out umbrella" alerts

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#57

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Stevie Perry Report

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Multa Nocte
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It always amazes me when people complain that they "aren't going to need something later in life." Sometimes knowledge is just good to expand your brain capacity and enlarge your knowledge base. I have never regretted having learned something and I have been surprised over my life how many things I thought were "useless" at the time have turned out to helpful later.

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#59

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Tiffany Welsh Stevenson , daviddeweil Report

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pinkpie
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A pound! You never know when there’s a yellow flag hiding in the beige ones lol

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#60

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Charlie Waite Report

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Mark
Community Member
11 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The world is dictated by Schrödinger’s laws. We all base our comments on the reactions of other people

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#66

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Bo-James Morey Report

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David Paterson
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tiny compared with my plan to build a collider that circumnavigates Australia.

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#67

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

So I get the shadow, but I'm trying to wrap my mind around the circular rainbow

Rob Lahoda Report

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Gandalf the Pink
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is mistaken for a circular rainbow but it's not. Rainbows are much larger. This is what's called glory. It's an optical effect due to sunlight interfering with small droplets, so things like clouds, mist, fog. It appears on the antisolar point, which means the opposite end of a line going through you from the sun. So naturally, it ends up right at your shadow.

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#69

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

S Dharma Teg Report

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Andy Cran
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

when they removed my eye (retinoblastoma) I did ask if I could keep it 😏,I was 13 at the time (almost 40yrs ago) but it had to go off for biopsy....I was an odd kid 😁

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#70

Humorous-Light-Science-Memes

Elisabeth Neda Scott Report

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Jack Burton
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah mens are so affraid of women we never heard about men hitting, raping or killing a woman like ever !

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