this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2025
825 points (99.2% liked)

Science Memes

17865 readers
1053 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] ODuffer@lemmy.world 188 points 1 week ago (7 children)

Hitachi - Magic wand, Hydraulic excavators, Scanning Electron Microscopes.

[–] Rozauhtuno@lemmy.blahaj.zone 49 points 1 week ago

My 3 favorite activities.

[–] higgsboson@piefed.social 41 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

They sold the rights to make the magic wand about a decade ago. No longer Hitachi, alas.

[–] Mirshe@lemmy.world 50 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Because Hitachi was embarrassed about their innocent personal massager being used for such unwholesome activities. Literal PR move.

[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 40 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I thought Magic Wands were used almost exclusively for holesome activities.

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (5 children)

You're not supposed to put that thing into your hole.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] vrek@programming.dev 20 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Just like TI... They no longer make the famous calculator

[–] PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well that makes sense, he had to focus on his music career.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

Get off my lawn

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] red_bull_of_juarez@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Mitsubishi: pens, cars, nuclear power plants.

[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

They fucked up San onofre so bad it's now being decommissioned 😡

https://newsroom.edison.com/stories/sce-formally-serves-mitsubishi-with-notice-of-dispute

It was a $680mill job, and SoCal Edison (SCE) had such an inept legal team, they missed a term in the contract with Mitsubishi which limited payout for failure within the 20yr warranty to $125mill.

Can you fucking believe that shit? I only found this out after investigating why there was a $3 "decommissioning fee" on my first electric bill after moving to California.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] atomicorange@lemmy.world 75 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Funnily, they no longer make either of these products. The glass jar division was sold decades ago, and the aerospace sector was purchased by BAE last year. Ball is still the largest manufacturer of aluminum cans, however. They also make plastic bottles.

[–] EtherWhack@lemmy.world 32 points 1 week ago (4 children)

I like their idea of aluminum cups, but the boxes they come in are unfortunately made from plastic coated paperboard. (Not sure why, with their whole selling point being more environmentally friendly.)

[–] alternategait@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Also aluminum is super great at conducting heat! which means your drink will rapidly move toward whatever temperature it is.

[–] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Great at conduction, but with not a lot of thermal mass, meaning that actually your drink will usually just make whatever it's touching (your hand, often) super cold or hot.

[–] alternategait@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (3 children)

It's a two way street. Your hand is reciprocally warming the drink.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 14 points 1 week ago (8 children)

We’ve been storing and drinking beverages in aluminum cans for like a century now and this hasn’t been a big problem.

load more comments (8 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Wren@lemmy.today 71 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

Ever heard of Big Deal Custom Cases? They're a company in Winnipeg, Manitoba who started out making road cases for musicians before diversifying into laptops, field equipment, basically anything breakable anyone needed to carry from one place to another.

Imagine what they thought when NASA phoned them up to build giant cases to carry the sails for the James Webb Space Telescope from the manufacturer to their headquarters.

[–] flying_sheep@lemmy.ml 24 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Probably

huh, that is right up our alley, but were kinda always felt that there's a secret echelon of “really professional companies” that gets contracted by NASA

[–] AlfredoJohn@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 week ago

For US government contracts that secret echelon is called the lowest bidder lol

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] LaserTurboShark69@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

What the hell I thought they were just a local place that does work vehicle retrofits and other small stuff. That's awesome.

[–] Wren@lemmy.today 10 points 1 week ago

Yeah! I didn't know until I visited with a friend of Gary Dealy (nicknamed Big Deal.) They have framed photos of the whole process. You should ask about it if you're in there, Gary told us the whole story. Very nice, cool, hilarious people.

[–] NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

I’ve had one of their cases for my Epiphone for 20+ years now, I’ll be dead long before that thing ever needs replaced.

[–] Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de 60 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Does it really have a resting shocked Pikachu face?

[–] Mok98@feddit.it 27 points 1 week ago

Only from that perspective, the "eyes" are on the supports for the sensor in front of the mirrors

[–] TachyonTele@piefed.social 9 points 1 week ago

It knows it's going to see some shit

[–] Nanook@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 week ago
[–] kadu@scribe.disroot.org 39 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

Honestly, I really love glass. What a fantastic material.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 32 points 1 week ago (3 children)
[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 18 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I saw a documentary about that which was a total hoot. From some stiff necked old coot talking about "At Hamilton Standard we made propellers and transmission gearboxes for military and commercial applications. They made brassieres." To this sharp old girl talking about "I was making baby pants and they asked me if I wanted to try something different. They put me in charge of quality control, and I issued each girl color coded pins. I was examining one suit, and I found a red pin, so I looked up who was issued the red pins and I went over to her and said "Here's your pin" and I stuck her in the behind with it."

I like to think those two are married.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] apex32@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Two cups in the front, two loops in the back. How do they do it?

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] atomicorange@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Those things are feats of engineering!

Spacesuits are cool too I guess.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] cypherpunks@lemmy.ml 31 points 1 week ago (2 children)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] brossman@infosec.pub 28 points 1 week ago (3 children)

honeywell: has home thermostats also honeywell: need defense/data center/aerospace industry products?

[–] higgsboson@piefed.social 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Honeywell licenses their name for consumer products. They dont actually make that stuff anymore.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Ibuthyr@lemmy.wtf 26 points 1 week ago

And just about half of all beverage cans in the world.

[–] BlackVenom@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Homies out here calling a Ball jar a Mason jar... Smh. Practically spitting on the abandoned ruins of Muncie, IN.

[–] Routhinator@startrek.website 20 points 1 week ago (2 children)

The style is called a Mason jar because John Mason came up with it and made it popular. This is called a Mason jar for this reason.

John Mason was from New Jersey. What does Muncie IL have to do with the Mason jar style?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_jar

[–] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

Muncie, Indiana ~~is~~ was the home of the Ball Corporation, which is the company referenced in this meme. Also of Ball State University, founded by his endowment. Like "Mason jar" before it, "Ball jar" has become a genericized trademark for the object itself, especially in the Midwest.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Gork@sopuli.xyz 15 points 1 week ago (2 children)

This is like General Mills, the cereal company, also designing DSV Alvin, the deep sea submersible.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] mrunicornman@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Corning: dinner plates, Gorilla glass, space shuttle windows

[–] SuperUserDO@piefed.ca 8 points 1 week ago

And fiber optic cables!

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] MightyThistle@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

Even the telescope looks surprised!

[–] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

See also: the Apollo Lunar Module (LEM), the humble US Postal Truck (LLV), and the F/A-18 Super Hornet, all made by the Grumman Corporation.

[–] apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

Ball was spun off and is a subsidiary of Rubbermaid.

load more comments
view more: next ›