Things in a taxonomist's office...

ChrisM has a post up describing the wonderful things in his office for working on sea stars. Much of the same things are found in mine as well, Although I steal paper towels from the restroom instead of toilet paper. Chistopher Taylor decided to admit to the world his special substance for mounting genitalia... So I thought I'd share a little something I find indispensible in my own research, thanks to a nearly all female lab I spent a semester doing some work at!

That's right hot pink nail polish. You would not believe how well it seals cover slips on slides. It comes with its own applicator and dries super fast too! Plus you can tell when you've reached the end of the cover slip. It is also great for color-coding your slides. Each species has a different color in my slide boxes. I know what you are going to ask... just let me reassure you. Pink does seal better than orange and blue, but it is about as effective as red. I never tried black though.