Friday, September 05, 2008

I'm pretty sure you are mad at me.

Well maybe not yet.
But soon.

When I say to you, "It's a Small World After All", what happens? Maybe you hum. Then you think of Disney, then you shrug your shoulders. And then....and then.....and then...
And then you most likely say, "Gwen! You just got that stupid song stuck in my head."

I would say I'm sorry, but that was pretty much part of my evil plan. Let me start at the beginning.....

About an hour ago, I was trying to figure out what to blog about and I was humming a little song in my head and it started annoying me. (That new Coldplay song La Vida Something or Other.) It started really bugging me, so I took the Google train to "song stuck in my head" and found a really interesting article in the University of Cincinnati news archive. (I know hyperlinks don't highlight well--so click on the word "article".) The article, Songs That Cause The Brain To 'Itch': UC Professor
Investigating Why Certain Tunes Get Stuck In Our Heads
by Carey Hoffman explores the deeply disturbing effect that jingles and simple tunes have on our mental sanity. Well, okay, I may be overdramatizing.


According to James J. Kellaris, an associate professor of marketing in the University of Cincinnati College of Business Administration (at least he was in 2001), songs like "It's a Small World" and "Whomp-There it is" are likely offenders of what he coined a "cognitive itch". Your mind sort of scratches it--only just like the chicken pox--it gets caught in a pattern that won't let go.

But fear not, campers, I'll not forsake you. the people who took the survey from Kellaris gave some great tips to apply to your brain like you apply calamine lotion to your chicken pox. Most said they try and distract themselves, but my favorite was give "tune kooties" to someone else.

You guys remember the Barney song right?

I love you...you love me.....

19 comments:

  1. Yeah, you're the devil. Payback is comin'!

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  2. I really am evil personified, aren't I?

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  3. Anonymous1:49 AM

    It's the innocent face. Throws us off.

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  4. Anonymous2:36 AM

    I point you all to the song "Secret" by The Pierces. It's the one Gwen and I are currently trying very hard not to hum under our breath.

    And you, my love, are evil.

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  5. gah...I've been tricked into falling for my own curse.

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  6. dude. you are evil. ROFL--thanks for passing it on...and now, I leave you with a song of my own:

    He takes a whiskey drink
    He takes a vodka drink
    He takes a lager drink
    He takes a cider drink
    He sings the songs that remind him of the good times
    He sings the songs that remind him of the better times

    (or something like that, LOL)

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  7. =op

    I thought you were evil personified, Gwen, but then Rhonda went all Tubthumping on here, and now that's stuck in my head. You know that the only way to get a song unstuck is to get another - hopefully less annoying - song stuck instead. A good one to use is Girl From Impanema... just don't start singing the words out loud or you'll never get it out of your head.

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  8. C'mere. Closer. I want to help you scratch.

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  9. Oh quiiiit! That is too funny! (image of a large purple dinosaur—with a gag in his mouth—dancing in my brain)

    That's it! Dress it up...that will kill that itch. So now imagine Coldplay naked! (wait...I guess that's dressing down...or something like that!)

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  10. Anonymous9:30 AM

    You're no way as evil as Rhonda is.

    That was pure evilness personified.

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  11. OMG!! I have about twenty songs rattling around in my brain now.

    I get knocked down, but I get up again.
    No you're never gonna keep me down.
    I get knocked down, but I get up again.
    No you're never gonna keep me down.

    Ack! Rhonda!!! How could you do this to me?

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  12. A friend of mine used to say the most evil person in the world was the person who would walk into a room and say "Kum-bye-ya my lord, kum-bye-ya" and then walk out.

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  13. Anonymous11:33 AM

    Thanks you guys...now I have way too many songs in my head!

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  14. Anonymous11:35 AM

    Forgot to mention, my boys were clapping and making whatever noise they could on the way home last night from hockey. Their song:

    We will, we will, rock you
    We will, we will, rock you

    Ugh...another one.

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  15. Yay, Rhonda! I love that song.

    And you know, Gwen? I actually really like the Small World song too.

    And I only know the first line of the Barney song, after which in my head it turns into the "knick knack paddywhack" song, and I like that one fine too. :-)

    And if I don't want those, or Queen, I can always hum

    You can dance, you can jive,
    Having the time of your life...

    :-)

    Cara

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  16. dude, wanna know what "stupid" is? i came back and read this thread and got that tubthumping song stuck in my head AGAIN.

    DUHHHHHH...that's what i get. ROFL

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  17. Anonymous2:07 PM

    ARGGGGGGG

    that is all


    *glares at gwen*


    -bria

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  18. In college, the worst sort of tune kooties to give involved Milli Vanilla and "Blame it on the Rain". But we did get like 1/3 of the dining hall singing along with "Copacabana" one night. *cackle*

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