When most of us imagine scientists, we picture white lab coats, sparkling work benches, and tidy, controlled experiments. We do not tend to imagine accidentally exchanging saliva with dead animals or gluing oneself to a large carnivore.
But such is the nature of field work, a romantic-sounding activity that, in reality, is a bit like strapping a bunch of live grenades to rabid dogs and setting them loose in a city. I was a science grad student in a previous life, and the worst thing that ever happened to me was getting lost in the woods and having to hitchhike down a Puerto Rican mountainside in the rain with a bunch of soon-to-be-slaughtered chickens on the back of some nice old gentleman’s truck.
Others have seen the far side of hell. Beginning late last week, scientists came out of the woodwork to share their #fieldworkfail stories — proving once and for all that these are some of the weirdest, toughest, most harebrained crazies you’ll ever meet. God bless ‘em.
When your drugged zebra finds the ONE tree on the Namibian plains, which also has a neck-height fork #fieldworkfail pic.twitter.com/2iUx2uxGNB
— Dr. C Cizauskas (@CarrieCizauskas) August 3, 2015
Accidentally glued myself to a crocodile while attaching a radio transmitter. #fieldworkfail
— Agata Staniewicz (@AgataStaniewicz) July 30, 2015
That sinking feeling when you realise you have inadvertently exchanged saliva with a dead jackal #fieldworkfail
— Prof Sarah Durant (@SarahMDurant) July 31, 2015
https://twitter.com/embed/status/626924164281147393
Lick tiny object to discern if fossil/rock. Fossil. Sticks to tongue. Coughing fit from dust. Sharp inhale. Swallow fossil. #fieldworkfail
— Trevor Valle ➡️ Anywhere Else (@tattoosandbones) July 31, 2015
Getting the @ZSLScience truck stuck in a river in the middle of Mongolia whilst searching for bats #fieldworkfail pic.twitter.com/f9yGoP2JVW
— Kate E. Jones 🦇 (@ProfKateJones) August 4, 2015
When you are collecting cheetah poop and drop some on yourself.#fieldworkfail#distractinglysexy pic.twitter.com/RvgHfauQ6P
— Anne Hilborn (@AnneWHilborn) July 30, 2015
https://twitter.com/embed/status/627053329877725184
Accidentally pee on a Jaguar´s marked tree. Get chased by the jaguar for 3 weeks, might sound exciting, actually quite scary #fieldworkfails
— Angela Bayona-Valderrama (@AngelaBayonaV) August 3, 2015
Once I got very excited to find some bones in a trench, thinking it may have been a midden, then the KFC wrapper emerged. #fieldworkfails
— ɿɘbɒɒᙠ ʏbᴎA (@PostAntiquarian) August 4, 2015
Skillfully applied thousand dollar satellite tag to manta ray. The same manta ray I tagged yesterday #fieldworkfail pic.twitter.com/xHR1agskar
— Alistair Dove (@DrAlistairDove) July 31, 2015
https://twitter.com/embed/status/628649236410662913
Discovering secret granola stash in field station = 🎁🎄🎉👍🏼! Realizing later 'flax seeds' actually weevils = #fieldworkfail.
— Aerin Jacob (@Aerin_J) July 30, 2015
When you spill pheromone solution on yourself and become the sexiest damn Tanner beetle in all Skåne #fieldworkfail #distractinglysexy
— Caroline Ponsonby (@LeFunambulist) August 4, 2015
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