If you’ve been paying attention to Twitter recently, you’ve probably noticed a new meme that pokes fun at some of the silly questions we get about our jobs — which happens a lot in science. It’s a reference to The Simpsons’ classic character Troy McClure, who would introduce himself along the lines of “Hi, I’m Troy McClure. You may know me from classic hits such as …”. As you’d expect from Twitter, they turned that into pure gold. Here’s an example:
Hi I'm a historian. You may know me from my greatest hits including. 'No, I haven't seen that on The History Channel', 'Im not sure who the 23rd president was off the top of my head and 'I don't really know that much about the Panzer tank to be honest' https://t.co/ubcB0SFJGU
— Doug Priest, PhD (@10MinuteHistory) January 19, 2019
My favorite, however, was the climate scientists — yes, we also get a lot of comments and emails like this.
Hi, I’m a climate scientist. You may know me from my greatest hits including, “No, it’s not a natural cycle,” “Yes, I know it’s been warmer before (and the only reason YOU know is because we scientists told you so),” and “Just because it’s on YouTube doesn’t mean it’s true.” https://t.co/0TwoErsgvA
— Katharine Hayhoe (@KHayhoe) January 20, 2019
Other academics were all over it.
Hi! I’m a professor. You might know me from my greatest hits, including “Of course it is, *everything* is relevant for the exam,” “No i don’t have summers off,” and my chart-topper, “It’s on the syllabus.” https://t.co/9g5yvjZVdw
— Johannes Haushofer (@jhaushofer) January 20, 2019
Hi, I'm a microbiologist. I'm sure you hated all of my hits, such as:
"There's no swab in this tube. Please resubmit."
"It's positive for C. diff, contact precautions required."
"Your TB results can take up to 6 weeks."
And everybody's fave "Hemolyzed/QNS. Please redraw."
— Mae Ling Mak (@spinster13) January 19, 2019
Hello i'm a Marketer. You may know me from greatest hits such as "No, I can't just make it go viral", "No, our target audience can’t be everybody", "No we can't photoshop a video" and "Yes, you absolutely will need a copywriter!" https://t.co/JNXE7W0qSn
— Andrien Gbinigie (@EscoBlades) January 21, 2019
The meme caught on quickly, spreading like wildfire.
Hi, I’m a #nurse. You might know me from some of my greatest hits like: “please gown and glove before entering the room;” “gel in, gel out;” “stop pulling at your IV;” “we need to scoot you up in the bed;” and “have you started passing gas?” #medtwitter https://t.co/j5jktYNgTv
— reepRN (@reepRN) January 17, 2019
Hi, I'm a hacker. You might know me from some of my greatest hits like "No, I can't hack your ex-girlfriend's Facebook," "Yes, that can be hacked," and "No, it doesn't work that way." https://t.co/Xp5UxV2HYh
— Ian Coldwater ??✨ (@IanColdwater) January 20, 2019
Hello, I'm an author. You may know me from my greatest hits, including: "No, not like J. K. Rowling", "exposure doesn't pay the bills,", and "I don't know, *have* you heard of me?" https://t.co/6Y7zo107bX
— Joanne Harris (@Joannechocolat) January 19, 2019
At the time of writing this, there are over 400 replies to Doug Priest’s tweet alone.
Hi I'm a geographer. You may know me from my greatest hits: "No I have not memorized the capitals of every country in the world", "No I don't like colouring maps" and "Yes, geography is STEM even if you don't understand what we do!"
— Paul VanZant (@PaulVangeog) January 20, 2019
Hi, I’m an architect. You may know me from my greatest hits including “That’s not a bearing wall” and “I don’t write the codes, but I’m required by law to design buildings according to them”
— (((Michael Goldschmidt))) (@MGArchitect) January 20, 2019
Hi! I'm a philosopher. You might know me from such hits as "No, I don't have any sayings," "You must be thinking of psychology," "That would be begging the question" and its even more popular follow-up, "That's not what 'begging the question' means."
— Daily Nous (@DailyNousEditor) January 21, 2019
Hi, I’m a lawyer. You may know me from my greatest hits, “it depends,” “I think I’d have to know more facts,” and, “I’m not saying it’s fair, I’m just telling you what the rule is.”
— Claudia_SF (@Claudia_SF) January 20, 2019
Here’s one that is bound to stir some spirits:
Hi I'm a migration studies scholar. You may know me from my greatest hits including. “No, migrants do not steal your jobs”, “terrorists are not migrants”, and my favorite “migrants do increase the general well-being of a society”. @ASAmigration @LASAMIGRATION
— Cristian Dona-Reveco (@cristiandona) January 20, 2019
Hi, I’m a science communicator for ZME Science. You may know me from greatest hits including “Yes, this is based on research,” “We can’t teach the controversy,” and “Sorry, that’s not research, that’s a Google search.”
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