“My Baloney Has a First Name ….”
Wiki:
"A Literary Nightmare" is a short story written by Mark Twain in 1876. The story is about Twain's encounter with a virus-like jingle,
and how it occupies his mind for several days until he manages to
"infect" another person, thus removing the jingle from his mind. The
story was also later published under the name "Punch, Brothers, Punch!"
The story is significant in that it is a fairly accurate description of a meme, and how it can replicate itself in a short time, thus acting like a virus in some respects.
The narrator, Mark Twain,
sees a catchy jingle in the morning newspaper. The jingle promptly
attaches itself to his mind, such that he loses concentration and can no
longer remember what he ate for breakfast, whether he ate at all, and
what words he was going to use in his novel. The jingle mentally
incapacitates him, until, a few days later, he takes a walk with his
friend, the Reverend, and inadvertently transfers the jingle to the
reverend's mind. As this happens, Twain experiences a sense of relief,
and returns to his normal life.
Some days after Twain was cured,
the Reverend visits him; he is in a terrible state, as the jingle, which
keeps on repeating in his head, has already disabled his concentration.
He tells Twain of some incidents where the rhythm of the jingle
influenced his actions, such as when churchgoers started swaying to the
rhythm of his homilies. Taking pity on the man, Twain decides to cure
him, and brings him to a meeting of university students. The Reverend
successfully manages to transfer the jingle from himself to the
students, curing himself and, at the same time, continuing the
diabolical cycle of the jingle.
Conductor, when you receive a fare,
Punch in the presence of the passenjare!
A blue trip slip for an eight-cent fare,
A buff trip slip for a six-cent fare,
A pink trip slip for a three-cent fare,
Punch in the presence of the passenjare!
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