The Dean Gave Me Syphilis

One of our deans is an infectious disease doctor, and she has recently given us some lectures on various bacteria.  The other day, she showed a clip of an old movie about syphilis and asked if anyone in class knew who played the lead actor.  Nobody did; it was Edward G. Robinson.

She then asked if anyone knew the name of Robinson's character, a doctor. 

 I drudged through my memories of microbiology from BYU and remembered that Dr. Paul Ehrlich discovered the first antibiotic, an arsenic-containing compound called salvarsan.  Trivia such as this sticks in my brain sometimes.

Anyway, as a reward for knowing this useless bit of minutia, the dean gave me syphilis.  Don't believe me?  Here's a picture!

Yes, this is Treponema pallidum from the GIANT Microbes stuffed animal collection.  They make perfect gifts.  Mother's Day is coming up, and what mother wouldn't love a little Flesh-Eating Bacterium on her special day?  And why stop there?  What better way to get that pesky ex to stop calling you than with a raging case of The Clap?  Oooohhh -- burn!!

The morale of the story?  Stay in school.  It might earn you a dose of the pox.