Labs are an integral part of every high school science course. Not all labs go well, however. Accidents will happen, and humorous stories are to be told afterward. Whether it is a fish-dissection accident or a complete skin mutilation (just kidding!), accidents in the science lab are as common as bad jokes in a Jay Leno monologue.

Science teacher Randy Solsman tries to implement labs once a week. Unlike his chemistry labs, his physics labs require no dangerous substances or Bunsen burners, but common objects like rulers, weights and a mind for science. Even without the hazardous materials, labs can and will go wrong.

Senior Danny Clem recounted a recent lab about rotation.

"We had to spin a rubber top to keep a weight up," he said. "To keep heavier weights up, I had to spin it faster. I must have hit myself in the face a dozen times."

When not teaching physics, Solsman has two chemistry classes, which have labs requiring more than household objects. To heat the chemicals, students use a Bunsen burner, which they hook up to the gas valve on the counter. When combined with a lit match, a concentrated column of fire forms.

Solsman explained that students do not always use common sense during such labs.

"You might think people would know that water is the antithesis of fire," Solsman said. "Students have hooked the burners up to water valves and air valves, then can't figure out why their match always goes out."

Besides the fire follies, such equipment as beakers and test tubes are constantly broken. According to Solsman, about a dollar's worth in damages occurs every lab. If that is a constant in all the science classes, then approximately $180 worth of new equipment must be purchased every year.

Clem also had a notable science mishap last year in Dr. John Willey's chemistry class.

"I spilled some very powerful acid on my thumb," he said. "I remember having white bubbles all over it, and I started worrying if I'd ever play the violin!"

Another science class that requires labs is biology. Most bio labs deal with microorganisms and viewing other marvels of nature through a microscope. But the most infamous labs of all are animal dissections.

Biology teacher Amie Mancine recounted a gross but humorous story about a fish dissection.

"One student was dissecting a fish, and he happened to get a female," she said. "He wedged his scalpel into the fish. The next thing you know the fish gave way and eggs splatted across his face. He was wearing goggles, but his mouth was wide open! The moral of the story is, keep your mouth closed while dissecting."

One general lesson can be learned of all these stories: Use science with caution.