A black-and-white photo of a person mid-air in a Superman-style body suspension pose, supported by multiple hooks in their back and legs, smiling joyfully toward the camera. They are suspended horizontally in a large indoor space with high ceilings and visible rigging. A group of onlookers—some seated, some standing—watch with expressions of admiration, amusement, and support. The atmosphere is lively and communal, capturing a moment of shared experience and transformation.

Modified Scientists

So I’m watching Daily Planet on the Discovery Channel and there’s a neat feature on these cool little microsatellites being developed at MIT’s Space Systems Lab under Dr. David Miller. Basically they’re like those little balls that float around space stations in Star Wars; very small and capable of highly precise motion. Anyway, they cut to the lead scientist, Alvar Saenz-Otero, and it caught my eye because he’s quite heavily pierced:

Among other things he’s got a bridge piercing, which is also known as the “Erl Piercing”, although that name is not that common these days. The name comes from the first person to popularize the piercing, Erl Van Aken, also known as one of the scientists that developed the lunar rover for NASA… Anyway, even if OfficeMax won’t hire visibly modified people, MIT and NASA (and in this case, DARPA) certainly don’t mind if you’re good at what you do. Personally I’d rather work for NASA than OfficeMax.

(My apologies for the terrible screenshots; I just took photos of my TV because I don’t have anything installed that can capture!)

Comments

154 responses to “Modified Scientists”

  1. entropy Avatar
    entropy

    I am a teacher with 9 tattoos, 6 lobe piercings, 2 cartilage piercings, and an orbital. I taught Pre-K thru 8th grade and never hid any of my art. In fact, there were more teachers with tattoos than without. Now I work in a high school, and I keep my shoulder and back tats covered, but my neck ones show routinely, and my ankles too. Nobody minds, just the normal compliments and curiosity.

    My mom hates them all, though. I should send her this article.

  2. entropy Avatar
    entropy

    I am a teacher with 9 tattoos, 6 lobe piercings, 2 cartilage piercings, and an orbital. I taught Pre-K thru 8th grade and never hid any of my art. In fact, there were more teachers with tattoos than without. Now I work in a high school, and I keep my shoulder and back tats covered, but my neck ones show routinely, and my ankles too. Nobody minds, just the normal compliments and curiosity.

    My mom hates them all, though. I should send her this article.

  3. Misanthrope Avatar
    Misanthrope

    Awesome :]

  4. Misanthrope Avatar
    Misanthrope

    Awesome :]

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