Have You Ever Vomited Upon Hearing Bad News?
“Your sister is dead.” Blarrrggghhh!
“That’s not really your dog.” Eggarrrhhh!
“I know you’re a drug dealer.” Glarrrppp!
It’s a common convention in television and movies. Someone learns some awful news, and promptly pukes. I most recently saw an example of this technique while watching season two of Weeds (an excellent show, incidentally, and justification enough to include a picture of the lovely and talented Mary-Louise Parker).
I’ve never done it myself, or seen anybody do it, so I’ve always thought of it as lazy writing. It’s a quick and dirty way to dramatize the impact of exposition.
Have you ever vomited upon hearing bad news, or known somebody who has?
October 30th, 2007 at 5:07 am
Yes.
Yes, I have.
But no… I’m not sharing any details!
Suffice to say, when you get hit by something bad enough out of the blue, it’s a natural reaction to, uhm, regurgitate.
October 30th, 2007 at 5:16 am
Jack: Interesting. I don’t really want to hear the details–I’m just curious whether people do it.
October 30th, 2007 at 5:31 am
No, but I have lost control of my limbs and fallen to the floor. I felt like such a drama queen.
October 30th, 2007 at 5:38 am
Yes, a few times. It usually has something to do with dudes and breaking my heart.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:21 am
i came close to it once, when i lived in south america and this guy, having learned that i was german, thought it would be cool to surprise me by unfurling his prize possession: a huge swastika flag.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:29 am
I actually generally get the flu after I get dumped. My body goes into shock, I throw up spontaneously and I get a fever. I have a very strong mind/body connection.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:49 am
isabella: oh my god.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:06 am
I am a guy and yes I have vomited upon hearing bad news. In my case, it was after having heard that my ex had cheated on me.
October 30th, 2007 at 9:01 am
I’ve never vomited upon hearing bad news - but I’ll second the motion that Weeds is an excellent show!
October 30th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Not the same Jack as above. I got badly threatened by a wannabe writer at a public event, and that made me almost sick on the curb outside.
October 30th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
It seems like relationship stuff has nailed a few of my friends that way — being dumped, cheated on, etc… like Raul says.
I got a surfboard in the gut and did it, but I think that made sense. :-)
October 30th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Like everyone else… yeah, I had some relationship news once that caused me to vomit. Or at least, it would have if I’d been able to eat anything for the prior 3 days. Instead, I got to dry heave for about fifteen minutes.
Distress basically makes my digestive system go bonkers. :)
October 30th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
When I got dumped after a 5 year relationship, the details are complicated. I needed Gravol to stop puking.
October 30th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Interesting. Would anyone care to offer their insights on whether this is a gender-specific phenomenon or not? I am a guy, and I took the news just as bad as I think any woman would have (hence, my hypothesis is that bad news -> puking, regardless of gender of person cheating/dumping and regardless of gender of person being cheated on/dumped).
October 31st, 2007 at 2:05 pm
No.
But I often need to go to the bathroom when looking for things, like on library shelves, or snooping through my brother’s stuff as a kid.