Category Archives: Other

10 Types of People

Title: 10 Types of People

General Information about Item:

  • Joke
  • English
  • United States

Informant Data:

  • Milan Chuttani is a Dartmouth ’18. He majors in Government and minors in computer science. He is most familiar with the computer languages Java and Python. He grew up in the state of Massachusetts.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context
    • This joke would be popular to those who have at least a basic understanding of programming. Understanding the binary system is a very basic and introductory part of the general programming curriculum so even beginners would likely get it. Therefore it would be very common to first hear it in an introductory course on programming. Although this joke can be said verbally, it makes the most sense when presented in written form as 10 in binary would be called “zero one”, not “ten”, but the joke requires that the teller says “ten” as mistaking 10 for “ten” in integral to the joke.
  • Cultural Context
    • This joke is essentially a pun, except instead of using a word or phrase it uses the standard numerical system in programming. This joke also is one of those that would make beginner programmers feel part of a larger group. The joke is not so complex that they would not be able to understand it, but at the same time those who do not have any experience with binary or programming would be lost. In this way, it could give programmers of all skill levels a feeling of being “in” on something like a secret handshake or something along those lines. This builds a welcoming atmosphere for beginning programmers.
    • Milan encountered the joke on a T-shirt, making this particular piece a kind of material folklore.

Item:

There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don’t.

Transcript:

  • Robert: Could you please give your name and background?
  • Milan: Yeah, my name is Milan. I am an 18’ and a Gov major and computer science minor.
  • Robert: Could you please tell your joke?
  • Milan: Yep, there are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don’t.
  • Robert: Could you please tell me where you first got this joke from?
  • Milan: I saw it on a T-shirt somewhere and thought it was funny.
  • Robert: Could you please briefly explain the joke?
  • Milan: On the shirt there was a ‘1’ and a ‘0’ as opposed to a ‘10’ which in binary is two. So it’s funny because at first you think it’s ten types of people, but it’s actually just two.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

 

Collector’s Name: Robert Sylvia

Tags/Keywords:

  • Joke. Binary. T-shirt. Pun.

Singing Samples

Singing Samples

The following five recordings are not folklore. These are video and audio recordings sent in by parents of either their children or them singing to their children.

Informant Information:

Mary Kate resides in Andover, Massachusetts. She has a daughter who has an undiagnosed developmental disorder. Her daughter is nine years old and participates in the” My Own Voice” choir, a choir for children with special needs in Andover.

Pam is from Andover, Massachusetts. She has a seven-year-old daughter with Down Syndrome who participates in the “My Own Voice” choir, a choir for children with special needs in Andover.

Linda is from North Reading, Massachusetts. She has a thirteen year old son with autism who has been in the “My Own Voice” choir since its very founding four years ago.

Type of Lore: Not Applicable

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States of America

Social/Cultural Context: 

The following recordings show how music is used in typical home life for these children and their families. The first demonstrates a mother singing her daughter to sleep, a lullaby is not an uncommon practice, but typically is not performed when the child is nine years old. The singing of the lullaby helps Mary Kate to connect with her daughter, who is non-verbal. The second demonstrates a child singing to her mother before bed. This girl with Down Syndrome is able to use the music to express herself, which is typically difficult for her to do with conventional language. These two recordings share the aspect of being popular songs.

The last three recordings are of Linda’s son, he over the years has found a way to express himself through songs that he writes himself. They do not have particularly advanced tunes or lyrics, but it allows him to be creative with his own thoughts when typical communication is difficult.

Sample 1: Mary Kate singing her daughter to sleep (2016)

Sample 2: Pam’s daughter singing to her at bedtime (2016)

Sample 3: Linda’s son experimenting with Rap part 1 (2014)

 

Sample 4: Linda’s son experimenting with Rap part 2 (2014)

 

Sample 5: Linda’s son’s Mother’s Day video (2016)

Collector’s comments:

While as we said before these videos are not recordings of folklore, we think that these exhibit very important examples of these children trying to both make sense of their surroundings and communicate in their own individual ways. This is especially seen in the last three clips. These videos were taken a few years apart, and it is apparent how much progress that Linda’s son has made in creating his songs. The last clip is especially touching, it is a song that Linda’s son wrote for her for Mother’s Day, a truly unique gift that he made in an attempt to express his gratitude for her.

Tags/Keywords: Special Needs, Autism, Down Syndrome, Music, Songs, Sleep, Communication, Family

Story 4: “Support Networks”

Support Networks

Informant Information:

Cathy has a daughter who has Down Syndrome. She is fifteen years old, and has recently joined  the “My Own Voice” choir. “My Own Voice” is a choir for children with special needs in Andover, Massachusetts. 

Type of Lore: Not Applicable

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States of America

Social/Cultural Context: This story again is not folklore, but it is a touching story about the kinds of support that newly special needs family receive upon learning of a diagnosis from friends, family and providers.

Informant Comments:

When I found out [my daughter] had Down Syndrome I was 18 weeks pregnant.

I had an ultra sound that showed a heart defect.  I had an amnio that day. A few days later we got the news that [she] had Trisomy 21.

I reached out to two friends I had that had siblings with Down Syndrome.

They were both very positive and loved their siblings very much.

They had both lost their sibling with DS from illness. One from a heart defect that could not be repaired at the time he was born. They can now repair that heart defect😊

That friend said to me ” I won’t judge you but I know you will love that baby”. She also told me about how her brother with DS cheered her up when she was a teenager crying or upset about silly teenage stuff.

The other friend told me also about fond childhood memories of her sister with DS.

When I told a man on the board I am on (Board of Assessors), he said ” I have a cousin with DS. She always played with us just like my other cousins”.

[My daughter] is 15 years old , but those are the supportive responses I remember the most😊

I could not forget to mention Dr Allen Crocker at Childrens Hospital Boston.

He was a strong advocate for Children with Down Syndrome.

He met with us prenatal and spoke ok the positive things we would experience . He said we would never have to worry about drinking or drug abuse issues 😊

 

Best Regards,

Cathy

Collector’s Comments: 

We know that this is not folklore because this story involves individuals talking about other individuals in their families, but we do believe that it is significant how other people were so forthcoming with their stories of support and stories of their own siblings and experiences with the disorder. There is a theme in this of how people stressed the attributes of their family members that conveyed how those members of their family experienced many things as typical children do; all families face challenges with their children, those with special needs just have a different set of problems than most.

Tags/Keywords: Special Needs, Children, Down Syndrome, Story, Expectations, Health, Support

Story 2: “Leadership Values”

“Leadership Values”

Informant Information:

Jeanette has a son who has Down Syndrome. He is nineteen years old, and has been a member of the “My Own Voice” choir for a few years. “My Own Voice” is a choir for children with special needs in Andover, Massachusetts. 

Type of Lore: Not Applicable

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States of America

Social/Cultural Context: This story again is not folklore, but it is a kind of story that often has a shared sentiment among special needs families. These more personal stories are typically shared individually or with close friends of the family.

 

Informant Comments: 

Angelina,

I’m going to take a stab at this.  This is one of my favorite stories about [my son].  Feel free to pare it down if it’s too long or to let me know if I need to make changes so it’s meaningful to your project.

A few years back, when he was 15 years old, [he] attended a summer day camp program in which he was the oldest child there, and one of only a couple with intellectual disabilities.  [He] had attended this summer program since he was 8 years old, so he was a senior camper and really knew all the routines.  Two days a week, the campers travelled by bus to an indoor pool to swim.  [He] always sat with a very young child named Mitchell (not his real name).  Mitchell was a very active child, but when he was with [my son], he was always compliant and very well behaved.  One day, [he] had an early morning appointment and we dropped him off at the pool later.  The camp counselors were very happy to have [him] there for the ride back to camp because Mitchell had been pretty tough to deal with on the way to the pool that morning.  The ride back was much more calm because Mitchell had his mentor and role model there.

In my family we value intellect and leadership.  [My son] has Down syndrome; so, he has intellectual disabilities.  This was the first time I ever thought of my son as a leader and role model to others.  I had an amazing feeling of pride.

Since then, I have experienced his leadership first hand when we are home for the holidays and he is monitoring the play among his younger cousins.  They are old enough to realize their cousin has special needs, but because he’s older, they respect and look up to him as a role model.  When he tells them they need to take turns and that they need to be nice to one another, they listen and respond well. My siblings have noted this as well.

I’ve always been told that it’s important that [he] have access to “typical” peers to model age appropriate behavior for him.  It never occurred to me that he could be a leader and role model to others and that they would learn appropriate behavior from him; nor did it occur to me that this passion could potentially lead to a fulfilling job or volunteer opportunity as an adult.

Jeannette

Collector’s Comments: 

We found this story relayed similar sentiments addressed in the Holland Poem. Families who have a special needs child often redefine their expectations for their children, and are then even more astounded by their accomplishments. We feel very fortunate to have been trusted with this submission.

Tags/Keywords: Special Needs, Children, Story, Leadership, Expectations

Adapt, Overcome, Improvise

Title: Adapt, Overcome, Improvise
Informant info: Michael Rodriguez. Informant attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Informant enlisted in the Army in 2003 and was a member of the 1st Battalion 8th Marines Bravo Company, which is an infantry military unit. He was stationed out of camp Lejeune North Carolina. Informant served in Iraq from June 2004 to December 2004. He was awarded a Purple Heart. He was from a military family, as well. Informant is 31 years old.

Type of lore: Verbal Lore
Language: English
Country of Origin: USA
Social / Cultural Context: Informant was asked if there were any traditions that his family of veterans had told him about the military and he said there were not. Then he said there was a saying that his father used to tell him that was a military saying. The saying is meant to encourage.

Associated File:

Adapt, Overcome, Improvise

Transcript:

[I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: “He would always harp on me ‘Adapt, Overcome, Improvise’, which is this sort of like military motto. You know you just sort of keep on keeping on. Like oh you fail, you know, work your way around it and try again.”
Collector’s comments: Informant is referring to his father when he says ‘he’. His father was also in the military. He had previously talked about his father.

Informant’s Comments: Found this one more interesting because it was passed on through the military and the Coast Guard, which his father was in.

Tags/Keywords: Military, Retort, Verbal Lore