this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2025
1054 points (100.0% liked)

Science Memes

13489 readers
1553 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 days ago (3 children)

So normal people don't have an education? It is brake, how do you people keep making this mistake?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

It's an Alfa, "Break" might be the correct terminology /s

Joke of course, I love Alfa's!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Likely something to do with English being a secondary language to the vast majority of the world...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Afaik native speakers make such mistakes more often, since they learned far more of the language by hearing than by reading

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 150 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Brake*

Sorry, just bugged me ><

[–] [email protected] 60 points 3 days ago

depends on if you're being followed by a cyber truck too closely, or not.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Likewise

NGL I stole this meme and was stoo lazy to fix it

[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 days ago (8 children)

Too*

(You asked for this. Asked for it!)

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (3 children)

You’d be surprised how many “normal” people don’t know the difference

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

Break Gas? Never heard that expression before. I always thought it was "break wind". 😆💨

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Physicians: "It's all vector addition and differatials?"
Mathematicians: "Always has been."

[–] [email protected] 42 points 3 days ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 days ago (6 children)

Petrol. Gas isn't even a gas.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ok, then how about the directional circle, solid pedal, and liquid pedal?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

They're all just vector appliers.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

*Gasoline or diesel. Petroleum has to be refined first before use in a car.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"Gas" doesnt refer to its state of matter, it's short for gasoline.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

Wow, I did not know that! I literally have never heard the word "gasoline" before!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Gasoline is called petrol outside of the US. It is a distinct word from petroleum.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm aware that British people think it's called petrol, but you're mistaken if you think that it's only the US that calls it Gasoline. That's the term used for most of the English-speaking Americas, including Canada and many former British colonies like Bermuda and the Bahamas. In fact, if you include Latin America's "gasolina" it's almost the entire Americas. And if you include variants on that name you'll also have to include Japan and Korea. In fact, "gasoline" has even invaded the British isles. Variations of "gasoline" are sometimes used in Welsh, Scots Gaelic and Irish.

But, anyhow, my point was more that "gas isn't even a gas" is as dumb as "petrol isn't even petroleum". "Gas" is just a short form for "gasoline", nobody's suggesting it's in a gaseous state, just like nobody is suggesting that petrol is literally just a short form of petroleum, despite the obvious similarity of the words. This is English, the language where "read" and "read" are two different words pronounced differently. It's no major issue to have "gas" be a short form of gasoline as well as being a state of matter, though it does sound funny if you say something like "gas is a liquid".

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

This is English, the language where "read" and "read" are two different words pronounced differently.

rofl

I'll be saving that one

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] RedditRefugee69 8 points 2 days ago (8 children)

Rich, from the kind of person who thinks there's an F in "lieutenant."

load more comments (8 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 52 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Far left pedal is the clutch, not a second "break"

[–] [email protected] 32 points 3 days ago (2 children)

No, that's the anti-theft device.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 days ago (9 children)

Only works in America though

load more comments (9 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago

No, it's just a foot rest

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I'm on mobile and could be wrong, but this picture looks like it's an automatic and that's a foot rest, not a clutch (nearly all Fords have a large plate like that in that spot to rest your left foot)

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago

It's generally called the dead pedal and yes, it's basically a footrest for your left foot. This meme is just awful and misspelled brake.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Is it an accelerator? Or is it a jerk pedal? Technically the gas pedal controls the change in acceleration, right?

I definitely have friends

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Technically the gas pedal controls the change in acceleration, right?

Technically it controls the amount of air and/or fuel delivered to the engine (in a gas engine, the pedal directly controls airflow; in a diesel engine it directly controls fuel flow)

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

No, if there is constant pressure on the accelerator, there is a constant acceleration on the car.

The jerk comes with the rate of change of pressure on the pedal (e.g. if you stomp on it)

That would make the driver the jerk 🤔

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Acceleration in physics terms just means a change in velocity. Velocity is speed in a given direction. The steering wheel, gas pedal, and brake pedal all accelerate the vehicle.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Acceleration in physics terms just means a change in velocity. Velocity is speed in a given direction

They definitely know that, given that they know that change in acceleration is called jerk

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago (4 children)

And I had no idea what the fourth derivative was called so I had to look it up. It’s called snap or jounce.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

And fifth/sixth derivatives are crackle and pop because some physicists thought it would be funny to have it be “snap crackle and pop”

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 43 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Forgot to label Earth as accelerator

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

There's this Finnish joke that doesn't translate well, about a physicist who got pulled over by police. "Uh, I guess I accelerated a bit."

Tap for spoiler(A particle accelerator is a machine that accelerates little bits. Do you get it now?)

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Can you fucking learn homonyms if you're going to make an entire ass meme about something?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I learned something today.

I was taught in my younger days that “homonyms” were words that were spelled the same but pronounced differently, and “homophones” were words that were pronounced the same but spelled differently. “Break” and “brake” would then be homophones.

But it turns out “homonym” is the broader category including “homophones,” “homographs,” and words where both are true (same spelling and pronunciation, but different meanings). So homophones are homonyms.

TheMoreYouKnow.gif

P.S. Though Wikipedia says a more technical definition would limit “homonym” to, specifically, the third category, words that are spelled and pronounced the same but with different meanings. They give examples of “stalk” (part of a plant) and “stalk” (follow/harass a person), or “skate” (glide on ice) and “skate” (a type of fish).

P.P.S. This reminds me of the autoantonym (a word that is its own opposite) “cleave,” which can mean “to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly” or “to split or sever (something), especially along a natural line or grain.“ I don’t know if “cleave” is technically a homonym, or if these are simply two definitions for the same word, and I don’t know who would decide that. But it’s still a fun word.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago (5 children)

No, one of them is the "don't accelerate" pedal you use to switch gears.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You're applying acceleration to the gear switcher

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Okay student, now turn the accelerator and feather the accelerator as you accelerate into the curve, then press the accelerator to accelerate your acceleration out the curve.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago

Love this

~ physicist

load more comments
view more: next ›