Roommates get mad at boy and girl for never being around. Boy and girl tell each other roommates don't understand. Boy and girl whisper they have a love that will last forever. Boy and girl know this even though they have never dated anyone else.
Boy and girl's relationship goes sour. Boy and girl walk around campus like somebody died. Boy and girl suddenly find themselves back in college with everyone else. Boy and girl live happily ever after until the next time they meet a boy or girl.
Harvard Humor
It seemed like an innocent joke.
For the past three days, photocopied notices with block lettering announced that "all hot water would be shut off in Grays Hall" because of some sort of construction project or something. One day it was to check the pipes. Another day it was to clean the system. You know, technical stuff.
But we really hated taking cold showers. Who doesn't, right?
So my roommates and I decided to play a little joke. We made notices with block lettering and posted them all around the dorm. The notices said "WARNING--WE ARE FLUSHING OUT THE PIPES WITH DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY LETHAL TUNGSTEN SULFATE COMPOUNDS. DO NOT TOUCH THE WATER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES."
In our practical joke fervor, we left nothing to chance. We posted the notices in the same space as the others. We pointed the notices out with concerned faces to people we hardly knew in our dorm. We asked around if anyone knew what tungsten sulfate was (note: there is no such thing as "tungsten sulfate compounds").
Joshua M. Sharfstein '91 is co-editorial chair of The Crimson.
We did make one fatal miscalculation, however.We assumed people would have some sense of humor.
Wrong. Within an hour, an "emergency actionteam" of students had mobilized to inform everyGrays resident of the impending danger. They wentdoor to door with words of doom--rife withtheories about the debilitating effects oftungsten sulfate compounds ("It will sear yourskin right off your hand. I know. I took the ChemAP.")
They contacted the senior tutor.
When the team got to our door, we felt like Dr.Frankenstein, aghast at our creation. One of myroommates spilled the beans. We posted upapologies in the dorm. We took a long strollaround the Yard when we heard that the footballtackle from upstairs wanted a few words with us.
In the end, however, we learned an importantlesson. There is no "Harvard humor" that, drawingupon a common base of experience, allows one tolaugh with Harvard students. To thecontrary, Harvard humor means laughing atHarvard students.
It was a realization that would serve us wellover the next three years