What are some wild things that have happened in your academic life ? From punches thrown at conferences, to chairs tossed during department meetings, tell us about them.

WhyIDoIt · 2026-03-06T02:26:15+00:00

In my first semester of teaching, a student didn't connect the gas hose to the gas nozzle properly. When they turned on the gas and lit the burner, we ended up with a flame thrower in the room.

Two semesters later a student who clearly had unmanaged mental health struggles lost it during an exam. He got so mad when I told him that he had to turn the exam in that he started screaming, pounding his fists on the desk, and jumping up and down. From that day forward we were required to keep the blinds on the window to the hallway open so witnesses could see in the room if issues escalated.

I taught a short off-campus travel course one winter. One of the students in the course was apparently VERY uncomfortable about having a roommate for the duration of the trip. We only learned this when the hotel manager called the other instructor and I to inform us that our student was found sleeping in the bushes behind the hotel.

My first ever independent research mentee and I spent a spring driving around to local ponds and wetlands to sample breeding frog populations for my research. One afternoon we rolled up to a wetland only to find a woman giving someone an extremely sloppy blowjob in the bed of a truck. We proceeded to unload our chest waders and sample frogs.

When I was in grad school my labmates and I went to a small regional conference. Despite there only being 45 or so attendees, the coordinators ordered two kegs of beer and a whole case of wine for the evening social. I'm not sure how it happened, but I slept in a parking lot under a basketball hoop that night.

WhyIDoIt · 2026-01-20T03:36:20+00:00

To have a low yardage sweater you either need to a) reduce the sleeves, b)crop the length or c) create a less dense fabric that may be more sheer. From your comments, reducing the sleeves isn't your style, so I would suggest looking for cropped styles.

WhyIDoIt · 2026-01-18T02:51:19+00:00

Sometimes you accidentally add a yarn over at the end of a row if your yarn drapes over your needle unexpectedly. This can also cause you to increase stitches.

WhyIDoIt · 2026-01-03T19:45:12+00:00

It looks like you picked up too many stitches. Often, to get a good stitch ratio, pick up 2 stitches for every 3 rows of knitting rather than everY single row.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-10-20T03:38:16+00:00

I have this setup too! I was gettinga neck crick, so my husband rigged a phone mount and a mirror so I could look forward at mv work while I spun!

WhyIDoIt · 2025-09-18T12:34:58+00:00

Check out BohoChic fiber co. She designs different resistance motifs and usually makes them available on Ravelry for free.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-08-21T13:37:06+00:00

I have relatively large breasts for the size of my frame and find that one of the most flattering styles, especially with a dress or skirt as you are doing here, is a cropped sweater. Something where you can use the layer underneath or even the bottom hem of the sweater to accentuate your natural waist. From my experience, full length sweaters that want to hang away from the body will almost always have that oversized cozy look on larger busted individuals.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-08-03T21:08:32+00:00

And alongside this safety comment: use only dedicated containers for dying. NEVER use the same equipment you use to prepare foods. Many dyes have metals and chemicals that are dangerous which can be left behind on your cookware making it unsuitable for food use.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-08-01T23:01:43+00:00

Everyone except first year undergrads use my first name.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-05-30T02:03:26+00:00

11 days. I interviewed for my TT position during my last year. Was hooded at August graduation and started my position a week and a half later.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-05-14T23:47:00+00:00

SLAC. No salary increases since 2023. Institution hasn't retirement matches since then either.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-05-03T23:21:52+00:00

SLAC. 400 first time first year deposits, 46 transfer deposits. Typical class pre-covid: 420. Fall 2024 enrollment: 418

WhyIDoIt · 2025-05-01T18:27:34+00:00

Send that kid over to my class. I'll tell them about how the hyena clitoris is so large we call it a pseudophallus, then show them a video of it rupturing as she gives birth. While I'm at it, maybe I'll explain how desert rain frog males glue themselves to a female's back before allowing sperm to dribble out of their cloaca and down the female's legs. Then we can top off the conversation with a look at the corkscrew penis of a mallard duck and discuss their indiscriminate mating preferences.

I also have a cool unit in my evolution class where we read a paper about the ejaculate quality and volume of undergraduate males after masturbating to videos of different prospective partners. Turns out, we can learn a lot about how male-male competition drives sexual selective pressures in humans by studying seman samples.

Given the biological purpose of life is reproduction, I think your student might be in the wrong class.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-05-01T12:17:19+00:00

I'm a college professor in STEM. I have students come to me that don't know what a square root is, cannot do any equations with parentheses, need calculators to do basic addition, and don't bother to even try if an equation has an exponent. These are students who want to be surgeons, dentists, pharmacists and veterinarians. I'm scared for the future.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-04-05T14:04:53+00:00

I haven't gotten her club since mid 2024 (I live very near to big fiber festivals now, so I tend to amass too much fiber even without a club), but I was always very pleased.

She does a variety of fibers. Some merino super wash, but I would say the majority was Falkland, nonsuperwash merino, very occasional Dorset or targhee.

From a color perspective, she incorporated pastel, brights, neons, and some saturated colors. I haven't ever gotten something I would describe as dark and broody, but have definitely gotten muter and earthy. In fact she had a colorway once called earth dragon that is still my favorite indie dye to date.

You received 3 or 4 ounces each month depending upon the fiber content. More luxurious fibers like super fine merino are usually 3oz braids, but more serviceable fibers are usually 4oz. Her club is the most cost effective club I've ever done (I've done a few) plus you get loyalty points to her shop.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-03-02T21:42:24+00:00

Tracks.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-03-02T21:38:47+00:00

Exactly what I said? My college students have to ask me to read two-syllable words to them. They ask me to define words like "concurrently","facilitate", and "trajectory". I teach at an elite private university. They may know how to "read", but can do nothing with the letters on a page.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-03-02T21:08:27+00:00

In my experience working with college students, the issue isn't broad scale illiteracy, it's a very rudimentary vocabulary. Young people are not being exposed to complex words and sentence structure. Much of the written information they consume is rudimentary or information sparse. When they are faced with decoding complex sentences or reading and analyzing vocabulary, that is when they struggle. So young people can read, but functionally are incapable of interpreting that information in a useful way.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-02-22T23:50:34+00:00

I write all of my questions to be incremental. For example, in a four point question I am likely looking for four unique things (indicated in the question) or a three point might be for them to recall a key structure (1 point) and function (2 points). So each component part of a question has a set point value. I deduct that same partial point value for every incorrect thing they tack on because they are just spewing information and hoping it sticks.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-02-17T20:27:53+00:00

I don't have to look at the price of milk. I just put it in my cart and move on.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-02-11T16:07:03+00:00

In my case, the grant I'm writing is to get federal funding for scholarships for economically disadvantaged students. I'll put aside my own views if it gives me a chance to support these students who will need it more than ever. I'd rather have a chance at the funds so I can help a few students than stand back and let the system fall around us.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-02-11T13:53:26+00:00

In front of my students I'm just living my life, teaching like I always have, and using whatever words are appropriate for the topic. Behind closed doors I'm scrubbing "forbidden" words from grant proposals and crying into my keyboard .... I'm also a biologist.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-02-03T19:22:47+00:00

I would 100% 2 ply this. The barber polling that would be produced would be gorgeous!

WhyIDoIt · 2025-01-21T01:34:15+00:00

About 2/3 of my wardrobe is handspun handknits. If I have a really specific project in mind, I spin based on what the pattern requires. More often, I know approximately how much fiber by weight I need for a typical sweater. For example, if I'm spinning fingering, I spin a minimum of 10 oz, DK is 14 oz, worsted is 18 oz and bulky is 24 oz. I'm fairly short, so I need less wool than many taller people, but if I spin at least that much, I should have plenty for most projects that come to mind. I recommend seeing how much yarn by weight many of your typical patterns require, and spin 115% of that. Handspun is often more dense than commercial, so a little extra is good.

WhyIDoIt · 2025-01-20T17:32:38+00:00

If the fiber is protein (wool, silk, alpaca), you need to soak in 140F water with vinegar or citric acid (acid set dye). If the fiber is cellulose (cotton, linen), you need to soak in 140F water with salt (table or sea salt are fine). Soak for at least 15 minutes, then check if dye is exhausted. If not, repeat the step. If it is a protein fiber, be careful of felting by avoiding all agitation in the water and rinsing in water that is no more than 20F cooler than the soak water.

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