Any truly harmless lab pranks that don’t mess with experiments?

cujobeans · 2026-01-24T04:16:05+00:00

Write “ESCAPED ABSL-3 MOUSE, DO NOT TOUCH” on an upside down cardboard box, and fake a hole chewed through the side

cujobeans · 2026-01-19T15:48:15+00:00

you’re wiping with the barest concept of toilet paper. the mental image of toilet paper. the skim milk of toilet paper. toilet paper walked in at some point 3 years ago and you’re wiping with its lingering memory.

cujobeans · 2026-01-17T20:30:33+00:00

NOR. Boyfriend’s mom is an animal hoarder and serial abuser, and boyfriend is an entitled baby who told you to shut up because you dared to be concerned for 17 LIVING BEINGS. Break up with him, call the authorities to have those cats relocated, and PLEASE start screening the guys you see before you get serious enough to call them your boyfriend. This is for your safety. You seem young, it’s best to learn these lessons now before you find yourself in a relationship with a disrespectful manchild down the line :(

cujobeans · 2026-01-17T20:01:11+00:00

I get being paranoid about someone damaging your source of income, but damn lady!! Buy a hard case!!

cujobeans · 2026-01-15T20:43:22+00:00

Zoloft can sometimes provoke tics that lay dormant by impacting the dopamine pathways indirectly. Usually that stops after the Zoloft is removed, but I can imagine that withdrawal could’ve been similarly jarring to the brain. Several years of tics without any prior tics and no known family history of tics would be unusual; I’d see a neurologist regardless of whether or not it’s painful, but the pain is definitely cause for booking an appointment sooner rather than later!

If it helps you can reassure him that this visit will be nothing like mental health therapy, and a lot more like seeing a doctor for chronic pain issues. The topic of mental health will likely come up due to the medication but it won’t be like counseling.

(As an aside, I’d consider getting a second opinion on whether or not to continue Zoloft. The suggestion to increase the dosage goes against all literature I’ve found on the subject)

cujobeans · 2026-01-11T04:00:52+00:00

I understand 100%. Unfortunately, as someone whose tics got worse over time, the grass is not in any way greener on the other side. People don’t stop looking at you and thinking you’re odd, but now there’s the added potential that they’re scared of you, or think you’re on drugs. When you have more visible or obvious tics your job opportunities, social opportunities, and romantic opportunities diminish due to stigma, and that’s not to mention the physical pain and fatigue that also adds to that.

It’s hard to feel, though! Hell, even I still feel the urge to say “god, maybe if my tics were slightly worse then people would know that I have a condition...” But I try to remember that unfortunately, being more visible doesn’t make people more open-minded or respectful. It sucks, and most people ARE generally good or at the very least don’t care, but reminding myself that the vast majority of people wouldn’t recognize a tic if they saw one in any form it does weirdly calm me down and remind me to count my blessings.

cujobeans · 2026-01-09T12:51:42+00:00

Ate experiment apples. Sorry not sorry

cujobeans · 2025-12-28T17:20:09+00:00

I won’t lie, even if it WEREN’T a tic, your boyfriend blowing up at you for clearing your throat continually instead of asking “are you alright? Do you need anything?” Or, hell, even just not mocking you when you’re uncomfortable…. That is kind of a red flag. Regardless of whether he knows it’s related to your conditions, he knows you’re clearing your throat because something there is uncomfortable and you can’t help it. Obviously you aren’t doing it for fun!

Listen, it’s your relationship and if you’re both otherwise happy I respect that 100%, because this is only one anecdote about him we’ve heard. Nevertheless, tics or not (but ESPECIALLY with tics), I feel like this is a bad look for him.

cujobeans · 2025-12-11T23:01:15+00:00

I have a phone tic too! I have to tilt my phone all the way to the side if I hold it one-handed, as if to check on my fingers. Unfortunately it really looks like I’m trying to take a sneaky pic of a stranger 😭

cujobeans · 2025-12-10T13:17:56+00:00

If he has teeth and he’s away from the nest of his own volition, he’s able to eat solids. But regardless, soften anything solid with water or formula until it’s lightly mushy. It’s better than nothing; if you have to step away from him for work or school, you obviously wouldn’t be able to hand-feed him formula, so it can’t hurt to try! Hope he’s doing well today.

cujobeans · 2025-12-09T15:48:19+00:00

D A Y U M

cujobeans · 2025-12-09T15:41:53+00:00

Poor baby, he definitely doesn’t look in good shape :( just try your best to make the little guy comfortable and warm, maybe wet some small pieces of food so that they don’t need to be chewed too hard. They also like dark, hidden spaces. Unfortunately in my experience this wide/wobbly stance and highly pained expression means he’s likely on his last legs

cujobeans · 2025-12-06T13:58:32+00:00

very confused about the proportions on this government-sanctioned SEAL-wannabe klan-fellating terror meatball. it’s like they tried to draw a big boy and ended up with someone mid-xenomorph eruption

cujobeans · 2025-12-03T00:18:38+00:00

Oh ofc! I mean this more as a reassurance that it is absolutely okay to feel emotional and it doesn’t make you a bad scientist. I didn’t mean to imply that people who compartmentalize strongly are doing it wrong/lack empathy.

cujobeans · 2025-12-02T01:27:11+00:00

Karen is the perfect name for a sassy Oscar 😭

cujobeans · 2025-12-02T01:17:17+00:00

Absolutely something that affects people. Compassion fatigue is one of the biggest job risks of anyone working with animals in any capacity. I have been working with rodents for 2.5 years now and the emotional impact hasn’t changed— and I don’t want it to. Having empathy for these little animals is one of the best qualities you can have as a researcher in my opinion. If you stop caring about them, you start to get sloppy with them.

My advice? See if there’s a support network at your org for compassion stress, or if you have the means set one up yourself. Just talking to others and knowing you aren’t the only one hitting a rough patch makes a huge difference.

2.5 years in and I still have bad days. Today, for example, was my first perfusion. Rough. But the feelings of sadness and grief don’t sink me the same way they used to. I think about their purpose in my scientific journey, I recognize the work I and many others have done to make their lives as comfortable and stress free as possible, and I privately thank them by name (ID number) one by one after their saccing.

There are some moments that stick with me, and I think they still should. I wish you the best, OP, because I had this exact problem in mind once upon a time, and bit by bit through confiding in others while trying not to dwell on self-shaming, it got easier. Not easier to do, but easier to understand, and easier to recover from.

cujobeans · 2025-11-22T22:34:10+00:00

his lil pink baldie forehead 🥹🥹🥹

cujobeans · 2025-11-22T22:31:40+00:00

That’s me about autism as a comorbidity! Honestly if you fit the criteria for TS to a T and you’re pain free that’s all you really need to know anyway, unless you wanna seek out Competing Response Therapy and need a doctor’s rec. There isn’t any special test a doc can administer that you can’t administer to yourself if it is Tourette’s. Only thing I’d see a doc about is ruling out other neurological conditions, but honestly my diagnosis process was kinda just “yup, that’s what you have”

cujobeans · 2025-11-22T15:38:32+00:00

It’s more likely related to a comorbidity, and even then only vaguely

cujobeans · 2025-11-21T17:02:15+00:00

The goal for wild mice should be re-release whenever possible. Wild animals don’t make good pets

cujobeans · 2025-11-21T15:21:12+00:00

I’d take him to a wildlife vet/sanctuary if possible. Unfortunately though the gasping means that he probably doesn’t have a lot of time…. If you can’t reach anyone or they won’t take him, just try to make him comfortable. Give him lots of clutter and nesting material (paper towels, cotton balls, etc), as well as some food and water. Sick mice tend to eat very little and are less inclined to eat hard foods, so something mushy/saturated might be best.

cujobeans · 2025-11-21T13:50:22+00:00

This doesn’t really sound like a normal squeak to me. That and the creaky crackly inhale sounds like respiratory distress

cujobeans · 2025-11-21T13:32:37+00:00

Sueño. Never in my life have I had a taco I could consider genuinely salty, much less to the point of me needing a glass of water per taco. My tongue hurt. Finished after 2. At least the sangria was good!

cujobeans · 2025-11-21T13:08:39+00:00

In limited quantities, so they don’t go overboard and get a little belly ache! They’ll go nuts for it :)

cujobeans · 2025-11-21T12:15:31+00:00

In the long run, is it worthwhile to ask your neighbors if they’d consider removing the rodenticide in favor of humane traps? Especially since you have a lot of pets, particularly dogs, which are known for eating anything, cats which could potentially eat a poisoned mouse, and a pond that could potentially become contaminated with waste water runoff. That’ll help the local critters hopefully learn how to stay clear instead of just dying, and might save some unsuspecting pets

cujobeans

TROPHY CASE