Apropos of nothing (itself a bit of a platitude), let’s see if we can put together the definitive list of scientific clichés. We can get a measure of just how insidious they are by Googling in quote marks.

To start with, that old favourite “Release of calcium from intracellular stores” gets 49,000 hits. Our very own Henry Gee releases his personal calcium with gusto and aplomb, being the first hit on Google.

My own bugbear is the black hole cliché—from which no popsci author can escape, not even Hawking.

Surprisingly, though, the phrase “From which nothing can escape, not even light” only garners 407 hits on Google, with its cousin “From which nothing, not even light, can escape” adding 382 hits.

So, what are your favourite science clichés, and can anything beat the calcium meme?