Stock photos of any job are usually delightful cringey. Sure, sometimes they sort of get the essence of a job, but a lot of the time the interpretation is downright cartoonish. One glance and it becomes abundantly clear that for some careers, we have no freakin’ clue what it is that people do. Dr. Kit Chapman, an award-winning science journalist and academic at Falmouth University in the U.K., recently held an impromptu contest on Twitter where viewers could vote on which photos were the best of the worst when it came to jobs in scientific fields. According to Chapman’s entries, a day in the life of a scientist includes poking syringes into chickens, wearing a lab coat (unless you’re a “sexy” scientist, then you wear lingerie) and holding vials of colored liquid. Lots and lots of vials. Of course, where each image is 100% inaccurate, they are 100% giggle inducing. Take a look below at some of the contenders. Chapman’s unofficial photo competition received nearly 500,000 votes cast throughout four rounds. The grand prize winner was a photo of a female scientist holding a soldering iron (very much not in the right way) as she is “working” on some kind of electrical board. It’s titled, “Hold My Soldering Iron.”Time to vote for the worst science stock photos ever! 1. Hold My Soldering Iron. pic.twitter.com/fc76jz8Bs4— Dr Kit Chapman (@ChemistryKit) October 12, 2022 “I mean there’s the obvious thing that she'll burn her hand, but nobody ever talks about how she's ‘soldering’ the wrong side of the board," one person quipped. Of course, “Talk to Us, Dr. Chicken” was also popular.2. Talk To Us, Dr Chicken. pic.twitter.com/IMh0LsmGcg— Dr Kit Chapman (@ChemistryKit) October 12, 2022 Clearly using the scientific method to figure out why exactly Dr. Chicken crossed the road. But not as popular as “Syringe Chicken,” where, for some reason, a scientist covered in a mask and safety goggles inspects a raw, syringe-filled chicken with his teeny tiny magnifying glass. For science! 2. I, too, store half-used syringes inside an uncooked chicken. pic.twitter.com/noEBQKqbO3— Dr Kit Chapman (@ChemistryKit) October 12, 2022 This one was the winner of the second-to-last batch. Ever wonder where space is? Don’t worry, leave it to the professionals to point the way.3. TO SPACE!!!! pic.twitter.com/ae1XzzQSKE— Dr Kit Chapman (@ChemistryKit) October 12, 2022 “To space!” Chapman captioned. Speaking of professionals, everyone dresses for research this way, right? 3. Science: It’s a Girl Thing. pic.twitter.com/ogIOrKHWe1— Dr Kit Chapman (@ChemistryKit) October 12, 2022 Chapman titled this “Science: It's a Girl Thing."People were quick to chime in with their own contributions, including: “Woman Brain Surgeon”My personal favorite https://t.co/MPbQCO5qSF— MAJ Moe MD ? (@donaldmoe) October 13, 2022 Otherwise known as a jello mechanic. And some kind of … corn scientist? From the future?I think you're missing the best of them all pic.twitter.com/MBgEO4fByk— autoproclamada generala da URSAL (@generaladaursal) October 12, 2022 Why does this seem like it belongs in an Annie Lennox music video? As well as a group of scientists that belong in a Marvel movie for their ability to manipulate atoms. Do not forget manipulating atoms by handhttps://t.co/FTRzyUJp7m— Katie ?Boo?-mah (@nuclearkatie) October 12, 2022 While these are certainly not an accurate depiction of the vast and wondrous world of scientific research, it did cause many a scientist to share a giggle. So no harm, no foul. Not even to chickens. This article originally appeared on 10.27.22

As the U.S. ramps into an all-too-familiar presidential election cycle where the only viable candidates left on the ballot are men, the UN announces a study that may—at least partially—explain why.The Gender Social Norms Index released yesterday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers a look at gender equality as measured by people's personal gender bias. The data, which was collected from 75 countries covering 81% of the world's population, found that 91% of men and 86% of women show at least one clear bias against women in the areas of politics, economics, education, and physical integrity. In other words, 9 out of 10 people worldwide—both men and women—are biased against women in vital areas that impact the world in major ways. Splendid.It would be easy to assume that these numbers are skewed by countries where women are blatantly oppressed, and that is somewhat true. However, a majority was found to hold no gender biases in just six of the 75 countries studied—and no, the U.S. was not among them. Nope, not Canada either.Andorra, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden were the only countries where a majority of people showed no clear gender bias. (Andorra came out on way on top, with 73% of its population showing no bias—the only country to top 70%. Go Andorra.)Where did the U.S. and Canada stand? According to the study, 43% of Americans hold no gender bias while Canada clocks in at 48%. Basically, if you're sitting in a stadium full of people as a woman in North America, half of the people you're looking at likely harbor some kind of clear bias against you. Same goes if you're a woman competing in a sport, giving a talk at a conference, or—ahem—running for public office.Perhaps the most unnerving stats from the report are these:- About 50% people—both men and women—think men make better political leaders than women- About 40% of people think men make better business leaders than women- Close to 50% of men believe that men have more right to a job than women- About 30% believe that it's justifiable for a man to beat his intimate partnerUmmm, that last one? Holy moly.What's just as concerning is that despite decades of progress on women's rights, bias against women is increasing in some countries among both men and women. And this is the case even among some countries that scored well on the index—bias in top-six Sweden, for example, actually increased over the nine years the study covered."The share of both women and men worldwide with moderate to intense gender biases grew from 57 percent to 60 percent for women and from 70 percent to 71 percent for men," the report states, adding: "Surveys have shown that younger men may be even less committed to equality than their elders."That last part is worth repeating. Evidence points to young men being less committed to gender equality than older generations. That is not good news for the future, folks.Of course, we have made big strides across the globe in terms of increasing access to education, improving healthcare for women, and other areas. But women still don't have a place at most of the decision-making tables, and we obviously still have social norm hurdles to overcome to achieve true gender equality."We have come a long way in recent decades to ensure that women have the same access to life's basic needs as men," said Pedro Conceição, head of UNDP's Human Development Report Office. "We have reached parity in primary school enrollment and reduced maternal mortality by 45 percent since the year 1990. But gender gaps are still all too obvious in other areas, particularly those that challenge power relations and are most influential in actually achieving true equality. Today. the fight about gender equality is a story of bias and prejudices."Results of the study indicate a backlash to the push for gender equality, the report states. Indeed, change is uncomfortable for many people and progress is often a two steps forward, one step back process. For sure, social norms are more complex and challenging to change than laws."Policymakers often focus on the tangible—on laws, policies, spending commitments, public statements and so on," the report states. "This is driven partly by the desire to measure impact and by sheer impatience with the slow pace of change. Yet neglecting the invisible power of norms would miss a deeper understanding of social change."Social norms also directly impact progress made in all areas. Currently, no country in the world is on track to meet the gender equality goals by Sustainable Development Goal target of 2030. With stats like these, that's not shocking.Clearly, something to keep in mind as we advocate for gender equality is how to effectively address people's core beliefs about women and equality in general. Legal progress without social progress is shaky at best, and true gender equality won't become reality unless people believe that it should.It appears we have some serious work ahead of us on that front.This article originally appeared on 03.06.20

Michelle Elman, a body positivity coach, helps people who are struggling to find confidence in their own skin.After persevering through numerous medical conditions and surgeries in her own life, Elman realized a few years ago that body positivity wasn't just about size or weight. Things like scars, birthmarks, and anything else that makes us feel different of self-conscious have to be a part of the conversation, and she tries to make the movement accessible to everyone.Sharing her own journey has been one of her most effective teaching tools.In May, she shared a post on Instagram of herself trying on a dress she bought five years ago in order to prove a powerful point.In the first photo, from 2012 — when she was a size 12, she says — she's wearing a size 14 dress. In the new photo, she's wearing the same dress, though she says she normally wears a size 20.The dress still fit. See on Instagram "NUMBERS DON'T MEAN ANYTHING," she wrote in the post. "So are you really going to let a change [in] dress size dictate your day? Are you really going to let an increase in a number affect your mood?""A higher dress size doesn't mean: — you are less beautiful — you are less worthy — you are less lovable — you are a worse human — you are a bad person — you are a different person AND it doesn't even mean you have a bigger body."The viral photo inspired thousands of people. While a huge majority of the comments were positive, there was still something bugging Elman about the response.Not everyone was getting the right message."Since the creation of this account, I have always been told I'm beautiful 'for my size' and I never wanted to talk about it because I thought I was being pedantic but eventually decided to speak my mind about it," she says in an email.She decided to create a follow-up post to set a few things straight about what body positivity really means.In the second post, she took a different approach to the "before and after" shots we see so often on Instagram. People loved it. See on Instagram In the caption, Elman addresses a couple of things well-meaning people got wrong about the message she was trying to spread. Some commenters said she looked "skinnier" in the 2017 photo which, though meant as a compliment, just reinforces that being skinny is somehow better.Others said she wasn't fat enough, to which Elman could only scoff."If people tell you they are a certain size, believe them," she wrote."People think that body positivity is about trying to convince people that bigger bodies are attractive, either physically or sexually," she says.But that's totally missing the point of what her work is all about."If you are still relating your love for your body to society's perception of beauty," she says, "then you are still reliant on someone else's opinion. Body positivity is about saying that you are more than a body and your self-worth is not reliant on your beauty."Her second post is currently sitting at over 26,500 likes on Instagram — a clear sign that this is a message many of us desperately needed to hear.This article originally appeared on 06.08.17

Inventing a whole new language. The post Billy Joel on his favourite guitarist of all time: “He was a freak of nature” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

"Me and John would have sung that good." The post “Lennon-esque”: the Wings track Paul McCartney said could have been a Beatles song first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

Sometimes when you throw a cookout, you might have more food than your grill can handle at once. Thankfully, there's a pretty easy fix for that problem.

To avoid disappointment, it helps to know which chain restaurants are renowned for their scrambled eggs, and which don't quite meet the mark.

Russia is secretly amassing a “dark fleet” of tankers to ship its LNG, mirroring the shadow fleet it created for oil exports to dodge Western sanctions. Bloomberg reveals that obscure shipping firms from Dubai have acquired several LNG vessels, with some already approved to navigate Russia’s Arctic routes. This stealthy maneuver comes as Russia faces increasing sanctions from the U.S. and EU, which have delayed major LNG projects and banned new investments. The creation of this clandestine fleet highlights Moscow’s determination to circumvent sanctions and maintain its grip on the global LNG market.

… Unless chaos, fracture, and ultimately total transformation is the goal, of course. The crucial error we often make is assuming benevolent intentions of the state where they don’t exist.

The Pentagon doesn’t know whether $62 million in missing U.S. weapons aid to Ukraine has been lost or destroyed, according to a new report released on Wednesday.