I Never Forget a Cultural Reference, but in Your Case ...

By Robert D. Zaretsky. "Either this class is dead, or my watch has stopped." As I stared at 20 silent and blank faces, I wondered if I should try the line. Perhaps even wag my pen and wriggle my eyebrows?
Instead, I sighed. Why bother? Those blank faces were my answer to a question I had just asked: Has anyone ever seen a Marx Brothers movie? Silence. Has anyone, I followed, ever heard of the Marx Brothers? As the silence grew louder, I felt the urge to dart my eyes across the room and do Groucho’s crouching shuffle out the door. More...