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Vaginas are like self-cleaning ovens; an octopus’s wriggly appendages are called arms not tentacles; and there’s no biological basis for race. These are just a few of the facts that scientists on Twitter want you to know, so they’re sharing them with the hashtag #MyOneScienceTweet.
The hashtag started with Dalton Ludwick, the same entomology graduate student who brought the #BillMeetScienceTwitter hashtag to life. This time, Ludwick asked: “If you could have the entire world know just one thing about your field of study, then what would it be?”
Scientists, science communicators, and clinicians started sharing facts that ranged from cool trivia about sea creatures to key reminders about the importance of diversity in science. If you’re in for learning some fun science facts, we’ve rounded up a few of the highlights.
Some of the tweets, for instance, cleared up misconceptions about the natural world.
Polar bears don’t live in Antarctica
— Michelle LaRue (@drmichellelarue) October 30, 2017
Polar bears don’t live in Antarctica
Polar bears don’t live in Antarctica#MyOneScienceTweet https://t.co/nbMfKyGbYS
Octopus don't have any tentacles. 0. Not one. They have 8 arms.
— Thomas Clements (@Thomas_Clements) October 30, 2017
Squid and cuttlefish have 8 arms AND 2 tentacles. #MyOneScienceTweet https://t.co/fg7NB1ryrU
Others tried to dispel myths about what the adorable and endangered Australian marsupial called the Tasmanian devil really looks like.
THIS IS NOT WHAT A TASMANIAN DEVIL LOOKS LIKE!!! #MyOneScienceTweet pic.twitter.com/B4AKKanerE
— David Hamilton (@davidghamilton1) October 30, 2017
THIS is what a Tasmanian devil looks like #MyOneScienceTweet pic.twitter.com/scyerx3jLd
— David Hamilton (@davidghamilton1) October 30, 2017
Some tweets were efforts to educate about wildlife conservation.
Sharks are not a threat to humans, and humans are better off with healthy shark populations than we are without them #MyOneScienceTweet https://t.co/84avMfdBjo
— Dr. David Shiffman (@WhySharksMatter) October 28, 2017
When carnivores are absent from the landscape, ecosystems simplify and we lose ecosystem services that benefit humans. #MyOneScienceTweet https://t.co/i241GAz5Bk
— Imogene Cancellare (@biologistimo) October 28, 2017
And some focused on health. Obstetrician-gynecologist and blogger Jennifer Gunter reminded Twitter that there are things that really don’t belong in vaginas. (That includes cucumbers, in case you were wondering.)
Vaginas are like self cleaning ovens so no soaps, cleansing, douches or anything GOOP is selling https://t.co/uhEv7JE5v0
— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) October 30, 2017
And whatever anti-vaxxers say, vaccines save lives.
There's no debate about vaccines. They save lives and do not cause autism whatsoever. #MyOneScienceTweet https://t.co/YH6PyMClvK
— Putrid Kyle Taylor (@PaddyKTaylor) October 30, 2017
Biological anthropologist Tina Lasisi reminded Twitter that there’s no scientific basis for racial categories.
Anthropologists did not stop using biological “race” to be politically correct, they stopped because it is bad science #MyOneScienceTweet https://t.co/M9kLLxpbT8
— Tina Lasisi (@TinaLasisi) October 29, 2017
There are also more intimate secrets about the creatures we share our world with. For example, the sea slug Melibe leonina’s secretions apparently smell like watermelon.
There is a species of sea slug that smells like watermelon #MyOneScienceTweet https://t.co/2dCC4p1bOO
— SpooKyle (@phycofrenzy) October 29, 2017
And, in case you didn’t know, fungi sexes are wild.
Some fungi have more than 20,000 sexes. But we can't tell them apart by how they look. Only the fungi know. #MyOneScienceTweet
— Vaillancourt Lab (@VaillancourtLab) October 30, 2017
This hashtag is just the latest science outreach effort on social media, and it’s a welcome reminder that there are still fascinating things to learn about the world. So, you tell us, what’s your favorite science fact?
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