When we first saw this photo of University of Newcastle Professor Brett Neilan's team of scientists, we thought they looked like a happy bunch.
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The next thought that came to mind was, why do scientists wear white coats?
Apparently it's a symbol of scientific rigour and respect.
Plus, the white coat helps the scientists to see any chemicals or liquids they've spilled.
So white coats are considered practical. And science is, of course, all about being practical.
A 1991 research paper in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine was titled, Why do hospital doctors wear white coats? It found that about three quarters of hospital doctors and medical students wear white coats.
"White coats are worn chiefly for easy recognition by colleagues and patients, to put items in the pockets and to keep clothes clean. Psychiatrists and paediatricians try to maximise rapport with patients by deliberately not wearing white coats," it said.
We also came across an article in the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics, titled History of Medicine: The doctor's white coat - an historical perspective.
"The white coat has served as the pre-eminent symbol of physicians for over 100 years. A child's earliest memory of a doctor is the person in the white coat. Patients expect to be treated in doctors' offices, hospitals and clinics by an individual wearing white," it said.
Still, we can't help but wonder whether a bit of colour could be added. In this day and age, you'd think trendy and fashionable lab coats would be all the rage.
Bad Parkers
A colleague has drawn our attention to a Facebook page, titled "Bad Parkers of UoN".
UoN as in University of Newcastle.
"BPOU [Bad Parkers of UoN] is now under new management, but don't worry, the spirit of BPOU lives on, and the crusade to call out the worst of the worst at UON shall continue," a post said on Wednesday.
"Please continue to send in all those dodgy parks and all other parking-related content that helps to keep the world of UON spinning."
By crikey, this type of social media page should be across all areas of Newcastle.
Coping Chocolate
Eunice, from Belmont North, tells Topics that "this life is taking an increasing amount of chocolate to cope with".
Not that we want to give a free ad to Whittaker's, but we did recently come across their fancy chocolate "specialty blocks".
These blocks have posh names like Marlborough Sea Salt & Caramel Brittle, Fijian Ginger and Kerikeri Mandarin and Hawke's Bay Plum and Almond.
Eunice decided to email Whittaker's with her own suggestion: "Very Tangy Lime Fondant in Dark Chocolate Drizzled with White Chocolate".
"Can just taste it!" she said.
A kindly receptionist from the old fashioned-named J H Whittaker & Sons replied, "Thank you for your email and suggestion of a Whittaker's Tangy Lime Fondant Chocolate! I will pass it on to the team. We really appreciate that you have taken the time to share your idea with us! It is always great to hear from chocolate lovers like yourself."
Jokes of the Day
I heard a joke about chocolate bars and it wasn't that funny. So I just snickered.
What is the sun's favourite chocolate bar? A Milky Way. What is a spaceman's favourite chocolate? A Mars Bar.
