Everyone's conjugating in the hallway! (a Bethel Christian School memory)

Conjugating E Coli bacteria. Credit: SciencePhotoLibrary

One of the oft-repeated warnings from teachers at Bethel Christian School in Erie, PA (back when I attended and it was at 737 E 26th Street), was "No congregating in the hallways."

This meant teenage loitering. I suppose they figured idle high school kids were a good matrix for mischief.

So happens at some point, the class ahead of us was studying sexual reproduction. That was the first class ever to graduate from Bethel Christian School, and included Dave DeWitt, Jerry Costello, Jim Amendola, Shelley Andrus, and a few others.

One day as we travelled the halls between classes, Dave DeWitt stood in the doorway to Mr Blystone's science classroom and said, loudly, "Hey, everyone, stop conjugating in the hallways!"

Perhaps you already know that "conjugation" is science talk for how bacteria have sex.

We thought it was hilarious, but Dave turned red as a beet and Mr Blystone scolded him for a very inappropriate joke.

FWIW 35+ years later, I don't  think it was a joke. I think Dave just had conjugation on the brain and that's what came out of his mouth.

I still think it was funny. I guess being 14 years old helped.

[2014-11-11]

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