When I was young I can remember running science experiments on random household items (much to my mother's dismay), determining which of my action figures would fit into the vacuum cleaner, what sound did light bulbs make when compressed in a trash compactor, or what happened when you took a Hypercolor t-shirt in the microwave (note: it turned pink). Today, unfortunately, dramatic home lab tests are a rarity in my life - which is why I was so pleased to see that our friend Dr. Suleman Bhana (co-host of The Rheumatology Podcast - http://therheumatologypodcast.com/) had the time to run some personal experiments of his own that reminded me of the good old days. Using a USB "microscope," as he describes it, Dr. Suleman ran some tests on his Medelita lab coat and compared them to the same tests on his t-shirt, increasing magnification on each until he could see a noticeable difference in the fabric:
Why you should wear a lab coat.
You'll see that regular t-shirt is seriously no match up against the protectiveness of our lab coat fabric, which is made up of a proprietary cotton-poly dobby weave. Dr. Suleman concluded, "Regular T-shirts are not good as armor against chemistry and other such things." While we don't boast that our lab coats are anything like "armor" in the traditional sense, it's nonetheless a highlight for us to see that even under a microscope you can tell that the fabric we use is something special. Many thanks to Dr. Suleman and his curious nature! Follow him at @SiMBa37 on Twitter or check out his fantastic podcast at @TheRheumPodcast, therheumatologypodcast.com.
