Wednesday 30 May 2007

Gerontology Corner

Scientists report the case of an 81-year-old woman suffering from Alzheimer's Disease who suddenly turned into a punning champion, prolific in making jokes and amusing wordplay. So that tragic disease is even more of a scourge than we first thought. Imagine ending your days in the humiliation of making clever plays on words like this:

For example, in response to hearing her son say “Dad let's charge up the battery for your new phone”, the patient said “Are you going to charge him for that?”

(via Freakonomics Blog)