'Science' Embraces Hipster Artist, Confuses Scientists
Above: the February 15 cover of staid journal Science, showing the structure of the ion clouds around the NH3-HCl hydrogen bond; the February 29 cover, showing atoms trapped in a lattice of optical microtraps; and the March 7 cover, a photo of a spray-painted flower, the work of insufferable British graffitti art-prankster Banksy. A reader reports: "I got my mail today to see what is clearly a piece of Banksy art on the front of Science, and I exclaim to my roommates, 'what the fuck is Banksy doing on the cover?!' When my roommates starting asking 'What does his lab study?', I realized that I was going to have to bring this to the attention of someone else." Click to see the incongruous cover lineup in full.