That was my husband's reaction to this article about an important caveat to a weighty talk. He meant that the talk's auditors' brains weren't all jangly with the din of our modern life."So this was an...experiment."
"Yes. An experiment. They had a control group."
"So...how were they testing this? If you drink water at dinner and fall down dead, it's harmful?"
"I dunno, but I know they had a special experimental dinner table. You can tell that the only reason this is in here is because Professor D'Ooge contacted the paper."
"Yeahhh...he had that important caveat."
"He felt it was important for Ypsilantians to know that. Just in case you were tempted to stuff your entire face with food and then inhale a glass of water. Not Advisable!"
"But sometimes I do that...if the food is really hot. (mimics eating) YI! (mimics grabbing a glass, drinking) Ahhhhh..."
"Uh-oh. I think we have to go back to the experimental dining table! You've just revived a 97-year-old controversy!"
Sorry, Professor D'Ooge.
--Ypsilanti Daily Press, January 20, 1912
This was an important subject for Prof. D'Ooge to speak on, as he was a scolar of Latin and Greek.
ReplyDeleteYes, Sir! And a whole audience sat and listened to the pros and cons of imbibing Adam's Ale with one's evening repast.
ReplyDeleteI'm still debating the issue, regarding tonight's dinner of chicken pot pie. Home-made, I hasten to add.
Water on the table? Or not? I don't know what to do!
Hmmm. D'Ooge was Dutch, too. The Netherlanders have confronted water and battled it for centuries -- on a scale both great and small.
ReplyDeleteWystan: Ah, good observation. Yes indeedy: "the waker, the sleeper, and the dreamer."
ReplyDelete