Graham, L. et al
After growing frustrated with how much time it took her to grab a scoopula from from across the lab bench, organic chemist Arya Wilkinson has innovated a dangerously fashionable new shortcut; acrylic nails with scoopulas at the end.
“The scoopulas are just so far away,” sighed Wilkinson, “who has time to take those five steps there and back during a busy reaction day? So I gathered all of our lab’s scoopulas, took them to my nail salon and got them put in instead of my regular acrylics.”
When asked if she’s worried about the potential for harmful substances being so close to her skin, Wilkinson brushes it off.
“Whatever. I scooped up some sodium hydroxide and a chunk fell through the opening in my glove and ate away part of my finger, so what?” said Wilkinson. “That makes them bad?”
Wilkinson estimated that she’s saved hundreds of seconds in the past month alone with her new nails.
WIlkinson’s supervisor, Dr. Emilia Tavern however, isn’t so sure of the new trend.
“Based on her recent requests for writing extensions, I imagine very hard to type with those things,” said Dr. Tavern. “I hope she has some keyboard nails lined up next so she can finish the paper I need by next week’s conference.”
Wilkinson, who considers herself a scientific innovator, hopes that people remember her in the same vein as the inventor of mouth pipetting.
