[Every week, CC and John will bring you some of the wierdest, funniest, saddest things he hears on his college campus.  Join the Overheard revolution!  Leave your own overheard convos in the comments.]

Two guys, in the dining hall, sitting over empty plates:
“What are we doing tonight?”
“Dan’s probably going on a beer run. I think there are a few parties up at the apartments. I wanna get crunk.”
“Definitely, man. Gonna rock it.”
After a moment:
“We’re playing Magic tonight, aren’t we?”
“Yeah. Probably.”

Two girls at a party:
“It’s not ‘yes’. I’m drinking. It can’t be yes if I’m drinking.”
“Can you just say ‘yes’ now?”
“But I won’t be be able to say ‘no’ later.”
“You wouldn’t say ‘no’ anyway, would you?”
“No. No, I probably wouldn’t.”
Nearby, the boy with his arm around one girl looks terribly uncomfortable.

One frat boy, from across the library: “Burrito?”
Many frat boys, holding burritos: “BURRITO!”

“So, like, bondage?”
“No, no. How about this. We pretend the bed is a rocket ship, and that we’re all astronauts. And we can only talk with our short-wave radios. And every time we talk dirty, we have to say ‘over and out’.” Read More »

In order to understand the effects of anti-gravity on astronauts, NASA is willing to pay $17,000 to participants in a 120-day bed rest study. As a study subject, you are to be confined to a downward tilted bed for 90 days of this time. That would be quite a rush of blood to the head (literally) and an awful lot time doing meditative yoga, watching T.V., or reading lots of books.

You don’t have to look too far for examples of life with lots of bed rest. There are plenty of people in this world who are, in fact, confined to a bed with paralysis, old age, injury, sickness, or disease. Or, metaphorically speaking, many people in this world who live life without activity or zest. Bed rest, to me, is the polar opposite to traveling. In fact, it’s the exact opposite of life itself.

On the other hand, after four months of lying on a bed I would certainly have the desire and money to travel around the world. But why would I willingly do it if it means 120 precious days of life gone by?

I wouldn’t. $17,000 for bed rest is quite a price to pay for four months of life wasted.

So excuse me while I walk out my door right now and do nothing but soak in my surroundings. One minute of that is worth more than $17,000.