clock menu more-arrow no yes

Filed under:

Here's the one thing scientists want you to know

New, 13 comments

Scientists are using #MyOneScienceTweet to share the most important facts from their fields

By Rachel Becker
These hooded or lion’s mane nudibranchs (Melibe leonina) apparently smell like watermelon.
These hooded or lion’s mane nudibranchs (Melibe leonina) apparently smell like watermelon.  
Photo by Chad King/NOAA MBNMS

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.

Others tried to dispel myths about what the adorable and endangered Australian marsupial called the Tasmanian devil really looks like.

Some tweets were efforts to educate about wildlife conservation.

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.)

And whatever anti-vaxxers say, vaccines save lives.

Biological anthropologist Tina Lasisi reminded Twitter that there’s no scientific basis for racial categories.

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.

And, in case you didn’t know, fungi sexes are wild.

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?

Next Up In Science

Loading comments...