AN 'EXPERIMENT' GONE WRONG!

I am not a science expert. In fact, I’ve always been scared of physics and chemistry. I had a tough time learning chemistry. My teacher and my mom used to tell me, "Anything learned practically will stay in your mind for a long time." So, I thought of learning physics and chemistry practically. I started experimenting with everything I could get my hands on—a screw, magnet, water, salt, spoon, egg, and even nail polish!

One fine day, I was trying to apply nail polish, but it had dried up. I couldn’t get the polish out, so I decided to heat it because I remembered that we heat wax to melt it. I assumed nail polish must be made of wax too! Since my mom didn’t allow me to play with fire, I secretly stole a matchbox and went outside to experiment.

I lit a matchstick and dropped it into the nail polish bottle. The flame went out instantly! "Ah! I discovered that nail polish doesn’t have oxygen! What a great discovery! I’ve become a little scientist!" I thought proudly.

I immediately called my friends, sister, and mom to show them my "discovery." I burned another matchstick and dropped it into the bottle. Again, the flame went out. Then I gave some silly explanations and tried it one more time. To my surprise (and horror), this time, the matchstick kept burning!

Everyone started scolding me, and I felt so ashamed of my stupidity. I quickly realized that my "scientific experiment" was far from accurate. That day, I learned what nail polish is really made of—and that experimenting without knowing the basics can backfire!

I understood an important lesson: nothing should be half done, and nothing should be half learned. From that moment on, I made an effort to learn things properly and understand the real concept behind every action.

Even now, whenever I think about this incident, I can’t help but laugh… at my "interest" in science!

Originally posted on 15-Sep-2010 Edited on 09-Feb-2025

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