
I don't make up such stuff though. I tend to tell them exactly how the chemicals they are working with can harm them, just to make sure they are safe in the lab. Safety is our main priority, then comes in learning techniques. The problem is, many students don't want to be in the lab for 3-4 straight hours, and want to finish the experiment asap, which tend to bring a lot of bad habits, such as not being careful, touching chemical, and even smelling them, which is a big NO. I once had a student adding concentrated bromine to her reaction flask, and she was using here bare hands to clean some bromine droplets off the flask. Another student broke a thermometer but didn't tell me, so she had mercury balls in her fume hood, she was touching them and thinking it is fun, I walk by and she is like, this is fun, I look at the fume hood, WHAT THE HELL