Tales from the Lab #9: How to Clear a Micro Lab (Part Two) – Management Edition
I’m calling this post management edition because it involves myself, my manager, and an anaerobic box filled with Clostridium. (My microbiologist friends can probably see where this is going already.)
For those not in the know, Clostridium is a bug known for producing hydrogen sulfide gas – it’s the same compound the natural gas companies use to give their product a “rotten egg” odor. It’s not pleasant, but when you’ve worked with the cultures enough in the lab, you tend to get used to the smell – or at the very least, you prepare yourself for it when you know its on the plate.
Clostridium is also anaerobic, meaning it doesn’t grow well (or at all, depending on species) in the presence of oxygen. To overcome this, it’s common practice to use sealed containers with carbon dioxide sachets in order to grow this particular bacterium. It will grow well in those conditions.
On one dreary February day, I was alone in the micro lab finishing up a round of testing. In the small company where I work, I’m the only microbiologist, so it’s pretty uncommon for anyone else to wander into the lab while I’m working there – unless they need something rather quickly.
Things had been slow for a few weeks, and I wasn’t expecting anyone to walk into the lab. I pulled my anaerobic box from the incubator and set it on the bench, opened it up…and my manager walked into the room at the same time. I will never forget his reaction.
“Hey, I need—oh my god, what is that smell?”
“It’s the Clostridium.” I pointed to the box of plates in front of me.
“Well, uh, how about you come find me when you’re done?” he suggested, backing toward the door – and his escape.
I was trying very hard not to laugh. “Alright.”
In his defense, my manager is a chemist and until the current job, he wasn’t in a position to oversee the work of a microbiologist. He wasn’t prepared for the bacterial aroma when he walked in, and Clostridium is particularly pungent.
It turned out that what he needed from me wasn’t urgent, and he hasn’t come back to the lab when I’m working very often since. (This happened a few years ago, too!) I don’t work with Clostridium very often in my current job, and he had the unfortunate timing to walk in on the rare occasion that I was. Most of the bugs I commonly work with aren’t as bad, but it’s been difficult convincing the chemistry team otherwise since that day. I still find it amusing.
This is Part Two of a series I started several months ago within Tales from the Lab. In Part One, I talk about the various strange and unpleasant smells that tend to be commonplace in a microbiology lab. I’ve become accustomed to them over the years, but I find it interesting to see how others react to them.
Thanks for reading!
Like Tales from the Lab? Subscribe to receive my blogs directly to your email inbox here.