Well, yesterday DIYbio NYC took ConfluxCity by storm. Or maybe by goo.
The day started out auspiciously, with the Tompkins Square Greenmarket giving us a primo spot on Avenue A to set up our DNA Extraction Party table. We laid out all our supplies- dish detergent, plastic champagne glasses, salt, meat tenderizer, etc.- on our bright green table with a cool poster of our logo in front. The day was sunny and perfect for DNA-making.
There was an amazing amount of foot traffic in the park that day. The DNA extraction process seemed to fascinate people of all ages and cultures. Of course, there was the woman who asked if our oven mitts (in case the alcohol was too chilly to hold) were for sale. And the one who walked away in disgust when she found she couldn't drink the final product...
Whatever gave us the idea that our sign would explain what we were doing? 95% of the folks who stopped to look asked "What are you doing?" and when we replied "extracting DNA" the second question was always "Why, what can you DO with it?" The answer they seemed to like best was "test it to see if the fruit was genetically engineered". The second most popular answer was "if all the strawberries on earth were wiped out, you could recreate them with what's in your little test tube- just like Jurassic Park but without the bloodshed". Yes, we brought microfuge tubes so they could take their DNA home as a souvenir.
