Becoming A Statistic

Ever wonder where all those university-published statistics about teenage health and how it changes over time come from? Well, they come from people just like me--I mean just exactly like me. Sometime when I was in high school I somehow got signed up as a participant in just such a study. I haven't thought about that in years. But a couple of weeks ago, they called me to say that they had received another round of funding, and they wanted to know if they could come over an interview me. Sure. Why not. Part of the interview was questions, as you probably guessed, but the other part of the interview consisted of me giving some biological samples--blood, urine, saliva. I did fine on all of these except the saliva. And, wouldn't you know, there were four of those kinds of samples--one the day of the interview and three the following day. This reptile girl could not produce enough moisture--at any time of the day, mind you--to fill the tiniest test tube half-way. It was embarassing...and dehydrating! But, it wasn't all for nothing. I'm now $110 richer. It's no jackpot on the penny slots, but I'll take it.