Here's a prime example of "Men Are from Mars, Women
Are from Venus" offered by an English professor from
the University of Phoenix:


The professor told his class one day: "Today we will experiment
with a new form called the tandem story. The process is simple.
Each person will pair off with the person sitting to his or her
immediate right.

As homework tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of
a short story. You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and
send another copy to me. The partner will read the first paragraph
and then add another paragraph to the story and send it back, also
sending another copy to me. The first person will then add a third
paragraph, and so on back-and-forth.

Remember to re-read what has been written each time in order to
keep the story coherent. There is be absolutely NO talking outside of
the e-mails, and anything you wish to say must be written in the
e-mail.
The story is over when both agree a conclusion has been reached."


The following was actually turned in by two of his English students:
Rebecca and Gary.

THE STORY:

(First paragraph by Rebecca)

At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The
chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home,
now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times,
that he liked chamomile. But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep
her mind off Carl. His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she
thought him too much, her asthma started acting up again. So,
chamomile was out of the question.


(Second paragraph by Gary)

Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron
now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about
than the neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic bimbo named Laurie with
whom he had spent one sweaty night over a year ago.

"A.S. Harris to Geostation 17," he said into his transgalactic
communicator.
"Polar orbit established. No sign of resistance so far..." But before
he could sign off, a bluish particle beam flashed out of nowhere and
blasted a hole through his ship's cargo bay. The jolt from the direct
hit sent him flying out of his seat and across the cockpit.


(Rebecca)

He bumped his head and died almost immediately, but not before he felt
one last pang of regret for psychically brutalizing the one woman who
had ever had feelings for him. Soon afterwards, Earth stopped its
pointless hostilities towards the peaceful farmers of Skylon 4.

"Congress Passes Law Permanently Abolishing War and Space Travel,"
Laurie read in her newspaper one morning. The news simultaneously
excited her and bored her. She stared out the window, dreaming of her
youth, when the days had passed unhurriedly and carefree, with no
newspaper to read, no television to distract her from her sense of
innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around her.. "Why must one
lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she pondered wistfully.


(Gary)

Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live.
Thousands of miles above the city, the Anu'udrian mothership launched
the first of its lithium fusion missiles. The dim-witted wimpy
peaceniks who pushed the Unilateral Aerospace Disarmament Treaty
through the Congress had left Earth a defenseless target for the
hostile alien empires who were determined to destroy the human race.

Within two hours after the passage of the treaty the Anu'udrian ships
were on course for Earth, carrying enough firepower to pulverize the
entire planet. With no one to stop them, they swiftly initiated their
diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile entered the atmosphere
unimpeded.

The President, in his top-secret mobile submarine headquarters on the
ocean floor off the coast of Guam, felt the inconceivably massive
explosion, which vaporized poor, stupid, Laurie and 85 million other
Americans. The President slammed his fist on the conference table. "We
can't allow this! I'm going to veto that treaty! Let's blow 'em out of
the sky!"


(Rebecca)

This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My
writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic semi-literate adolescent.


(Gary)

Yeah? Well, you're a self-centered tedious neurotic whose attempts at
writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. "Oh, shall I have
chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of F--KING TEA??? Oh
no, I'm such an air headed bimbo who reads too many Danielle Steele
novels!"


(Rebecca)

As$$$le.


(Gary)

B$$ch


(Rebecca)

F__K YOU - YOU NEANDERTHAL!


(Gary)

Go drink some tea - wh@@e.


(TEACHER)

A+ - I really liked this one