Psychology is such an amazingly fun class. As the semester closes, we've finally moved into the Memory unit of the class. And what better way to test memory than an old-fashioned game of Telephone?

So seven volunteers were chosen and left the room. One (me) came back in and heard a two-minute story from the teacher. The second person then had to come in, and the first (me) had to retell the story with as much detail as possible. Then the third came in, and so on. After today's class, I now realize I have a very good short-term memory.

Here's my approximation of the story (the seven of us still haven't read the exact story, so this is all still from memory):

There was a TWA Boeing 747 departing from Miami International Airport in Florida bound for Los Angeles, California. Shortly after takeoff, a hijacker stood up in the rear of the plane and announced he was taking over the plane for the People's Resistance Army for the Liberation of the Oppressed. He pointed a .357 magnum at the flight attendant, Jack Swanson, and told him to open the cockpit door. The hijacker told the pilot, Jane Randall, to set the plane's course for Cuba. Jane radioed in the situation to the control tower, then threw the microphone at the hijacker. The hijacker fell back through the cockpit door, and the passengers took care of the rest. The plane then finished it's journey in Miami, Florida.

...yeah, it landed back in Miami. Just to trip people up, I suppose. Now, that may not seem so special, but it is exactly what I told the second person. Here is an approximation of what she told the third person:

Yeah, so there was a 757 plane taking off from Miami. Then some guy stood up and used a gun to take over the plane for the oppressed. And there was this Jane chick, I think. And then the passengers took care of the guy, and the plane landed in Los Angeles.

The story quickly fell downhill from there. Our final story ended up being something like this:

The time on the plane was 7:37, and some guy had a gun. Then the plane landed in LA.

Which is better than two previous years, actually. One year the final line was "There was a man who bowled a 142 and took a trip to Miami." Another year had the passengers landing the plane at a remote cabin, sexually assaulting the hijacker, and completing their journey to Los Angeles.

Psychology is a great class.

- Kolth