Alien Parasite Hypothesis

American TV is far more educational than many people realize.

I can state this with some degree of confidence for two simple reasons: One TV show provided a clue to my recent, mysterious bout of startitis. Another revealed the definitive cause.

Here's how that came about.

In a Big Bang Theory rerun titled The Alien Parasite Hypothesis, the delightfully naive Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Balik) experiences a strange and baffling reaction. She’s introduced to an attractive, well-built young man, and her pulse begins to race, her ears grow hot and she can’t stop herself from repeatedly saying “hoo!”

(Substitute "yarn" for "young man" and these physiological reactions are eerily similar to mine at the peak of startitis extremis.)

To discover the source of this puzzling condition, Amy and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) conduct a differential analysis to explore possible causes, ranging from flu and hyperthyroidism to alien parasites. The usual shenanigans ensue, and eventually they conclude Amy’s symptoms are a normal, healthy female response to an attractive young man.

(Whew! Substitute "yarn" for "young man" and apparently my knitterly response was relatively normal and perhaps even healthy.)

But wait.

Amy and Sheldon rejected the alien parasite hypothesis, but they never actually disproved it.

This alarming realization sent me scurrying to the internet to conduct some quick research. The pseudoscience is clear: Alien parasites run rampant on Earth and are a leading cause of bizarre and incomprehensible behavior in hapless human hosts.

This knowledge was useful, but it took another TV icon to solve the mystery. Sherlock Holmes came to the rescue with this observation: When all other possibilities are eliminated, whatever remains no matter how improbable must be the truth.

Finally, the explanation for my severe bout of startitis has been revealed: Alien parasites made me do it.


To read more about handknits in TV land, click here.