Exploring the on-screen image of chemists

One of the first versions of what we now call Dast (draw a scientist test) was conducted in 1957.¹ Children were asked to write an essay using the following prompt: ‘When I think about a scientist, I think of…’. The result was an elderly or middle-aged man in a white coat with unkempt hair, working alone, and surrounded by glassware. He was usually portrayed in dingy laboratories with explosive chemicals, neglecting his family. However, some positive attributes also emerged like devotion, persistence and benefiting mankind.