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World Laboratory Day - April 23
Tue, Apr 23, 2024

World Laboratory Day

World Laboratory Day is a worldwide holiday created in honor of laboratories. These scientific centers are a necessity in modern society: biomaterials are tested there, new drugs are developed, various experiments are conducted, and much more. It is celebrated every year on April 23rd.

History

The exact start date of World Laboratory Day is uncertain. Laboratories themselves have been around since ancient times. At that time, they were simply gloomy rooms filled with flasks and various tools. Alchemists worked there, similar buildings might have been built by healers. The oldest laboratory is believed to have belonged to Pythagoras (500 BC). The great scholar of ancient Greece tested his theories about sound tones and vibrations caused by strings there.

In the Middle Ages improvised laboratories became more and more numerous. However, they began to take their modern form in the 19th century. At that time, various sciences were actively developing, and the creation of research centers became a necessity.

After WWII, not only the number of laboratories increased significantly, but also their diversity in areas: medicine, ecology, meteorology, testing of newly developed devices, automotive engineering and much, much more.

Interesting facts

  • Ohio’s Plum Brook test facility, built in the 1960s, has a huge vacuum chamber that can hold 30 tons of air. It takes about eight hours to fully evacuate it.
  • Aquarius Reef Base is a marine laboratory located 19 meters deep in the Florida Keys. Specialists study marine life.
  • Burkina Faso has a special laboratory where natural conditions for mosquitoes are recreated. It is used to study the insects, develop drugs for malaria and effective methods to resist mosquitoes.

How to celebrate

Congratulate family and friends if they work in the laboratories. If possible, visit one of the laboratories to see how they work from the inside.

Are there similar facilities in your city? Tell us about them in social networks!

When World Laboratory Day celebrated in 2024?

World Laboratory Day is observed on April 23 each year.

Observations

Weekday Month Day Year
Tuesday April 23 2024
Wednesday April 23 2025