Yale Student Contracts Extended Metaphor Disease
April 1, 2005
In what scientists are calling the first text-to-human transmission of a virus, a Yale University student who goes by the name "Anotmas" has contracted the deadly Extended Metaphor Disease (EMD). Doctors for the afflicted student first discovered his condition after concerned friends alerted New Haven police to his plaintive cry for help in an online poetry forum:
i DON'T GET EXTENDED METOPHORES! THEY MAKE ME SICK! WHEN MY COLLAGE TEACHER AT YALE UNIVERSITY SAID " WHAT ARE EXTENDED METOPHORS?" I FETL SO EMBARRESED WHEN I SAID "I DON'T KNOW!"
Initial symptoms of EMD include dizziness, shortness of breath, and poor spelling. Doctors warn, however, that if left untreated the condition can be fatal.
Among the many questions that researchers are still struggling to answer is how someone could get Extended Metaphor Disease without getting extended metaphors. ("i DON'T GET EXTENDED METOPHORES!") Meanwhile, reporters are investigating why someone who was embarrassed by his ignorance in class would broadcast his ignorance on a public internet forum.
Faculty and staff at Yale are just as confused over what critics are now calling EMD-gate. In the English department, professors are looking into possible subject matter theft, as it appears that at least one member of the art department ("MY COLLAGE TEACHER") has been teaching figurative language. In the admissions office, everyone is trying to figure out how the student was accepted to Yale in the first place.
"Anotmas" is currently in stable condition at a local hospital.
Comments (3)
Nicole, I'm not sure the student was male. It was an "editorial decision." I had to choose one or the other, and after initially going with female, a friend of mine (also a woman) thought it might come across as demeaning to women because the student appears so, well, uneducated. Ultimately, it didn't really matter to me which one I went with, but trying to go gender neutral would have made the article sound ridiculous.
Apr 2, 2005 ; 2:54 PM
I was looking for the origin (note spelling) of the name Yale (as in who was this person) University when I came across your blog. It would be nice to know what Extended Metaphor Disease is!
Feb 16, 2008 ; 6:27 PM
Hi Karl,
This is really funny! Seems as if this student would have benefitted from having Mr. Swedberg for high school English! While I too am wondering how this student found himself (are we sure it was a him?) at Yale, I often find myself wondering the same thing about students at NYU; still,their last names and the subsequent number of zeros behind their daddys' donations to the school usually explain everything!
I heart your blog, man!!
Apr 2, 2005 ; 1:06 PM