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If you picture a scientist as a guy in a white lab coat who spends all day glaring at vials, you can blame popular media. A quick image search of the word scientist brings up dozens of stock photos that fit this stereotype. And when photos do diverge from the norm, things start to get weird. Now real-life scientists are sharing some of these bizarre depictions on Twitter using the hashtag #badstockphotosofmyjob.
Some stock photos contain errors that would go unnoticed by most members of the public. But show a professional a model posing with a beaker of dyed water, or a backwards double-helix, and they might have something to say.
Chemists stare longingly at mysterious pink liquid collected from the field#BadStockPhotosOfMyJob pic.twitter.com/d9aHUjttjG
— Dr Amy Heffernan (@DrHeffo) May 4, 2018
‘What the f*ck is this?’ One of the key questions biologists like me try to answer on a daily basis by staring intensely at coloured liquids #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob pic.twitter.com/7fRqLm08xP
— Dr. Erin Williams (@DrErinWill) April 25, 2018
I spend my days laughing at models of DNA that twist the wrong way #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob pic.twitter.com/G0YxJOq9LF
— Dr Liz Tunbridge (@LizTunbridge) May 4, 2018
Despite all the lab gear, safety rules are apparently broken all the time in stock photo world. On rare occasions fake scientists ditch the lab coats altogether for lingerie—or nothing at all.
Dude!! Gloves!! And get a firmer grip on that flask while you're at it #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob pic.twitter.com/JaMvYYsGqt
— Dr. Alex (@materialsgrrl) May 4, 2018
Freehand pour Very Dangerous Blue Liquid (VDBL) from a beaker into tiny tube in a rack you hold with your other hand. #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob
— Kate Adamala (@KateAdamala) April 25, 2018
Mandatory eye and respiratory protection, because VDBL. pic.twitter.com/zS22pCRWSt
#BadStockPhotosOfMyJob We do not taste the stuff in our Petri dishes and plants do not grow out of desks. pic.twitter.com/rHDeFycctK
— Dana Simmons ?? (@dhsimmons1) May 4, 2018
Well made up and in my camisole, but hands and eyes covered... #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob pic.twitter.com/Xais8BfG4Y
— Dr. Tammy Ivanco (@IvancoTammy) April 25, 2018
When you're so excited about #isotopes you don't put on gloves or other safety equipment...or clothes. #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob pic.twitter.com/uHJJygYuGa
— Chris Stantis, PhD (@ChrisStantis) May 4, 2018
Even more puzzling scientist stock photo trends include injecting plants with mysterious liquid and holding stethoscopes up to inanimate objects.
my favorite subgenre of #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob is tomatoes being injected with multiple syringes. pic.twitter.com/GAjgAWp78a
— Alvaro L Perez-Quintero (@alperezqui) April 26, 2018
Apparently I have been using incorrect plant breeding methods all these years. Have not been injecting apple juice (hope that’s what it is) into soil and drowning plantlets in tubes. #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob pic.twitter.com/kKgtWuLSIn
— Dale Burns (@drburns1212) April 26, 2018
Ok, ok... But for real y'all... WTF is this one? #badstockphotosofmyjob pic.twitter.com/pU80GzOzV3
— Veronica Bryant (@NoroNerd) April 26, 2018
I, too, inject my plants with a mysterous liquid as a seed scientist #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob pic.twitter.com/h7cWZjfKyi
— Philippa Alvarez (@powerofplants3) May 4, 2018
Because if you *really* want to understand the brain, you have to listen to it. Real close. #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob pic.twitter.com/yMHIcATAVg
— Ben Marcus (@scicommer1) May 4, 2018
Fortunately, scientists from the real world are much better at their jobs than scientists in stock photos make them out to be. To get a clearer picture of how a scientist's job differs from the stereotype, check out some behind-the-scenes accounts of their work in the field.