Celebrate Bunsen Burner Day Every March 31
March 31 is Bunsen Burner Day!
Did you use a Bunsen burner in school?
If you took Chemistry–which you probably did–odds are good that you used this simple tool for heating your chemical concoctions.
You may also have used it to sterilize an inoculation loop (you might call it a smear loop, microloop, spreader or something similar) in Microbiology class.
And this versatile little piece of equipment has its very own day!
Bunsen Burner Day commemorates the birth, in 1811, of the burner’s inventor Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen (usually just called Robert Bunsen).
Now there does seem to be a little disagreement about his birthday. And also whether he actually invented the flame source that bears his name. Some say he just made improvements to an already created burner.
Even if that’s all he did, the Bunsen burner as we know it exists because he wasn’t happy with the smoky heat sources scientists had been using.
And some sources cite his birthday as March 30, but most use March 31. We’re going with the majority here.
Of course, if you really like the Bunsen burner (maybe you have fond memories of high school science classes?), there’s nothing stopping you from celebrating both days!
In case you don’t know …
This simple burner is just a hollow tube where gas and air mix. To use it you just need a gas supply and a way to light the flame.
In class you probably used a striker. And if it was anything like the ones we used, your striker was mostly worn out and took a dozen tries to light the flame!.
You then control the flame by adjusting the amount of air that gets into the tube.
So simple, but so useful!
We know why we’re celebrating the Bunsen burner. But we don’t know who first came up with the idea of this day or when.
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this hot unofficial holiday.
Ideas For Celebrating National Bunsen Burner Day
You probably don’t have a Bunsen burner lying around the house, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate this day.
In fact, if you really want one, you can find quite a variety of Bunsen burners for under $20. So if you really want to celebrate Robert Bunsen’s birthday right, you can light a burner in his honor.
What else can you use it for? No clue. Unless you want to use it in place of candles for all your birthday celebrations!
Come to think of it, we kind of like that idea …
Now, if you’re not going to buy your very own Bunsen burner, you still have options for celebrating.
If you have kids (or you’re feeling nostalgic), watch Dr. Bunsen Honeydew in Muppet Labs.
Watch/listen to the Bunsen Burner Song (no, it’s not very good … But it is creative. And you gotta’ give credit to someone singing about lab equipment!).
Do you have any memories of using a Bunsen burner? Share! … Fond, funny, hair-raising … it doesn’t matter! We want to know.
What other ideas do you have for celebrating Bunsen Burner Day?
[…] Bunsen Burner Day: While we’re all stuck at home we might as well do some Chemistry experiments with our Bunsen burners? Ok, probably not. But we can reminisce about our time in Chemistry or Microbiology lab. […]