Science is a lot of things. It’s a person in a lab coat experimenting with different materials as well as an astronaut bouncing around in zero gravity. It’s a geologist studying rocks and a mathematician perusing books. It’s an archeologist out on an expedition and a biologist monitoring different animal species.
That’s the great thing about science—it’s vast. It is also useful because of discoveries that allow us to advance in this world. It is exciting because it gives us new prospects to aspire to. It is ongoing, inspiring, devastating, beautiful and, also, funny.
The list below is all about the funny side of science. The jokes, the puns, the memes, and other ridiculousness that was collected and posted on The Lighter Side of Science Facebook group. Scroll down to see our favorites.
#1
Image credits: Hennri Starr
Because science is so vast and multilayered, learning about it can be quite challenging. That’s partly because there’s so much to learn but also because it’s easy to get scared of how much there is to learn. That is where the science communication people come in. They are the ones that combine science and fun to make it appealing to all.
These are passionate people who make it their mission to spread the word of science to the common, non-science related folk. Sometimes they are researchers or medical professionals themselves and sometimes they are well-informed journalists that want the people around them to better understand the world. Either way, they are helping everyone to get excited about science.
#2
Image credits: Diane Ohlzen
#3
Image credits: Tiffany Welsh Stevenson
While popularizing science has been a thing since the invention of media and the printing press, the most notable figures emerged in recent years. One of them is Carl Sagan.
Sagan was an astronomer and did a lot of research into the possibility of extraterrestrial lives. However, it wasn’t his discovery or any of his 600 papers that made him famous. It was his show Cosmos that was aired in 1980 that made him undoubtedly one of the most popular scientists back in the day.
#4
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#5
Image credits: Butcher C. Cazzoti
#6
Image credits: Willow Annastasia
Of course, he wasn’t a nobody before he landed the show. The science community appreciated him for his research and advocacy, though some were a little put off by his speculative approach to science. Still, he taught at Harvard and then earned his position as a full-time professor at Cornell. He was also working with NASA since the inception of the US space program in the '50s. He even briefed Apollo astronauts before going to the Moon.
#7
Image credits: Tiffany Welsh Stevenson
#8
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#9
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
He became better-known to the public after he published his best-selling science-fiction book The Dragons of Eden, which won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1977. Because of this, he was invited to write and narrate Cosmos. In it, he delved into various different topics related to space and the world around us. He told fascinating stories that got people excited about our universe.
#10
Image credits: Alex Hanna
#11
Image credits: Steven Downs
#12
Image credits: IFLScience
The 13-part series was well received by both the audience and the critics. It won an Emmy and a Peabody Award, and also became the most widely watched series in the history of American television and held that record for a whole decade after. As a result, Sagan became a cultural icon.
#13
Image credits: Steven Downs
#14
Image credits: Makenzee Jade
#15
Image credits: Keith Manson
In the show, he often said “billions and billions” referring to and emphasizing the innumerable amount of things in the universe. This became his catchphrase and a part of the cultural vocabulary in the '80s. Musicians were including it in their songs and comedians were incorporating it into their routines.
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Image credits: Aleksandra Bilewicz
#17
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#18
Image credits: Elisabeth Neda Scott
Furthermore, now “sagan” can be used as a unit of measurement that is equivalent to a very large number of anything (at least 4 billion or more). His name is also used when referring to the number of stars observable in the universe. This is called Sagan’s number and at the moment it’s estimated to be 300 sextillion.
#19
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#20
Image credits: Tiffany Welsh Stevenson
#21
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
To this day, Sagan is highly admired by many. He made many people curious about the world and even nudged some towards scientific careers. And sure, this list can never compare to the perfect knowledge and entertainment balance that he achieved in his masterpiece of a series, but, hey, it’s still pretty darn funny.
#22
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#23
Image credits: James Sheppard
#24
Image credits: Alex Hanna
#25
Image credits: Hennri Starr
#26
Image credits: James Tegan
#27
Image credits: Christine Nicole Bagley
#28
Image credits: David Nields
#29
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#30
Image credits: Alanna Marie Fresquez-Apodaca
#31
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#32
Image credits: Stevie Perry
#33
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#34
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#35
Image credits: Alex Hanna
#36
Image credits: Jeanne Gehring
#37
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#38
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#39
Image credits: Gowtham Prithvi
#40
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#41
Image credits: Tiffany Welsh Stevenson
#42
Image credits: Diane Ohlzen
#43
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#44
Image credits: Tiffany Welsh Stevenson
#45
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#46
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
#47
Image credits: Heather Cachat
#48
Image credits: John Scott
#49
Image credits: Allan Hussein
#50
Image credits: S Dharma Teg
