One of these things

[sbeath]

From a lab-supply website I had to price-compare today:

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do I keep Dumont forcep tips from bending?
What type of alloy should I choose for my Dumont forceps?
What does the black handle on my instrument mean?
What does the gold handle mean?
What are your finest instruments?
I need to open the skull of a rat, what do

Comments

[sildra]

That reminds me of the time my brother posted to Facebook complaining that none of his tools were sharp/strong enough to cut a human femur length-wise. (His friends were shocked and horrified; our other sisters and I asked him why he let our parents rope him into doing difficult chores for them like that. (Turns out it was because my dad had actually offered to pay him.)) Bone is difficult to deal with neatly--you do need special tools for it.

[farrow]

I remember in AP Bio after we dissected the mud puppy, we could get extra credit for doing an exercise on the nervous system - which necessitated viewing the brain. After a minute of trying to get into the skull armed with only a scalpel, my partner and I (...okay maybe this was mostly me) started stabbing with the pointy end of the scalpel and all the arm-strength I could muster. There were bits of skull and brain flying everywhere. We did not get the extra credit.

Skulls are a problem.

[sbeath]

Skulls are a problem

...and by their appearance on the FAQ, apparently a common problem at that.