Liquid-Liquid Extractions: The 20-Minute Lie

Engineers and chemists discussing how to mask autism in job interviews is like trying to hide a Bunsen burner in a haystack. The real secret? Don't bother. The field is basically a neurodiversity sanctuary where avoiding eye contact is considered efficient time management and obsessive attention to detail is just called "good science." Your autism isn't a bug—it's the industry standard feature.

The perfect chemistry burn doesn't exi— 🔥 This meme is playing on the irony that hydrophobic compounds literally FEAR water! These molecules run away from water faster than I run from social interactions. The bottom panel shows Davy Jones asking "You afraid to get wet?" which is basically what water molecules would say to oil if they could trash talk. It's chemistry's version of a playground taunt! The ultimate science dad joke that would make your lab partner groan and secretly chuckle.

The scientific mic drop we didn't know we needed! This meme brilliantly points out the irony that plastic bottles (containing PFAS or "forever chemicals") aren't recyclable, yet the fundamental particles making up EVERYTHING in our universe are identical! Both columns show the exact same Standard Model of Elementary Particles chart because quarks, leptons, and bosons are the same whether they're in aluminum cans or plastic bottles. The universe doesn't discriminate - only our recycling bins do! The kicker? Those "forever chemicals" are made of the same building blocks as everything else. Nature's greatest recycling program has been running since the Big Bang - humans just haven't caught up yet!

The classic 2x2 matrix of academic despair. Chemistry students exist in four quantum states: understanding the material and passing, understanding but failing anyway, not understanding but somehow passing (pure statistical luck), or the most common state—clueless and failing spectacularly. The title reference to Schrödinger's cat is apt—until you take the exam, you simultaneously exist in all states of chemical comprehension and incomprehension. Trust me, I've occupied that bottom-left quadrant more times than I care to admit during my PhD. Passed without understanding a single reaction mechanism. My advisor still doesn't know.

That moment when your brain short-circuits because there are just TOO MANY scientific "V" variables! Physics throws Voltage and Velocity at you, chemistry hits you with Volume and Valine, engineering sneaks in Viscosity, and biology slides in Volumetric flow rate. No wonder scientists look contemplative with pens in their mouths - they're trying to remember which "V" they're supposed to be using in their equations! Next time someone asks "what does V stand for?" just respond "yes." 😂

Chemistry students everywhere feel this pain! Trying to memorize the entire periodic table is already a Herculean task, but those last 25 elements? Pure nightmare fuel. The superheavy elements like Nihonium, Moscovium, and Tennessine might as well be written in ancient hieroglyphics. And just when you think you've got them down, IUPAC decides to rename the "un-un" elements (previously named with "un" prefixes like Ununpentium) to proper names! It's like studying for a test only to find out the textbook changed overnight. No wonder the pink blob of despair is lurking behind you.