Hidden nuggets: nautical archeology and laboratory management.

Although the professions of nautical archaeology and clinical laboratory management seem to involve different bodies of knowledge, many of the principles and truisms of archaeology correlate to the art of laboratory management. On two occasions, I have been a member of a team excavating a 350-year-old shipwreck off the north shore of the Dominican Republic. I have illustrated those experiences to demonstrate that these seemingly disparate professions share frustrations that interfere with the pursuit of useful knowledge as well as successes that lead to new knowledge.