Plastics Memes

The existential crisis of scientists discovering Earth is just one giant chemistry lab! While chemists see a world of glassware and reactions, molecular biologists are having a meltdown realizing their precious plastics are nowhere to be found. That astronaut pointing the gun is definitely a chemist who's tired of explaining that silicon dioxide is basically fancy sand. Meanwhile, the molecular biologist is experiencing the five stages of grief at warp speed—currently stuck between denial and bargaining: "But where will I put my cell cultures if not in plastic petri dishes?!"

Pre-1900 polymer scientists were absolute badasses in most fields but would totally lose their minds over pool balls. Why? Those colorful spheres represent the exact moment chemistry got real complicated! Before 1900, synthetic polymers barely existed - then BAM - celluloid (the first synthetic plastic) revolutionized billiards by replacing ivory balls. The irony is perfect: these brilliant minds who fearlessly tackled complex chemical problems would be utterly terrified by what we now consider basic polymer science. The structured, predictable arrangement of those pool balls is basically mocking the chaotic, unknown world of macromolecules they couldn't yet comprehend!

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 molecular structure of margarine is nowhere near plastic. It's like saying humans are one chromosome away from being bananas. Margarine is primarily vegetable oils with emulsifiers, while plastics are synthetic polymers with completely different chemical structures. And those "27 shared ingredients with paint"? Pure fiction. Both might contain water and some preservatives, but that's like saying coffee and motor oil are similar because both are brown liquids. Next they'll claim peanut butter is two molecules away from being superglue. The food science here is about as accurate as measuring temperature with a ruler.