I will never forget the name of the active ingredient in moth balls, paradichlorobenzene, because I spilled a large test tube of it onto my hand once in my high school chemistry lab. It was cold.

That, of course, was an accident. But lab scientists, equipped with dry ice, helium tanks, liquid nitrogen, syringes, and autoclaves, must frequently get themselves into stickier situations—both accidental and deliberate.

Last week, I started an open thread on Seed‘s blog, Page 3.14, asking readers: “What’s the most embarrassing or over-the-top thing you’ve ever done in a lab? (Or in a lab coat?) (Or in a cold room?) (Or while wearing lab safety goggles?)”

So far, the response has been hilarious. Here’s one:

Embarassing:

Using an insulin syringe (the kind without leur-locks) as a water gun, only to find that if you depress the plunger too hard, the needle shoots across the room and embeds in your lab-mate’s lower lip. (He was OK, and they were new syringes.) -qetzal

Have your own embarrassing anecdote? Go comment on the original post!