“As I posted on Twitter, I had absolutely no clue that everybody would find this so funny – I just thought a few of my geologist friends would get a chuckle out of it. The Matilija Sandstone (I’m pretty sure that’s what this boulder was) is a reasonably soft rock, comparatively speaking – not very much of a challenge for an auto-chipper in the hands of an igneous petrologist! I’m hoping that I can use this attention to serve as a role model for anybody (but especially girls) who want to be righteous and awesome scientists and to really engage the public with Earth Science. Geologists are often overlooked but quite important – and, as you can see, we’re pretty freaking awesome as a general rule.”