Excuses from students about why they missed class or why they failed to turn in an assignment are part of the job. Most of the time they are probably true; sometimes they are wild fictions. I have been teaching for more than 20 years and I have heard many, many excuses. At this point I figured that nothing would surprise me.

Well, wild one arrived in my inbox this morning from a professor friend of mine. He received it this morning from the afflicted student:

I know that ___________ told you, but I just wanted to confirm that I missed class today due to the fact that I was in the emergency room having my nose ring removed from inside of my nose. I accidentally caught my nose ring on a towel this morning and it ripped my ring through my nose and got stuck inside of it. I have my discharge papers that I’m bringing to health services tomorrow. Would you like a copy of them? Also, I just wanted to see if there was anything big that I missed today. Last class you had said that today was just going to be a work day. Was there anything else that I missed? Let me know.

I find several things interesting about this email from a student:

• The student is probably telling the truth. It is the kind of injury that will likely be apparent on his/her face.
• This is an excuse that one would not hear twenty years ago. Other than piercing ears other kinds of piercings were rare. Now one thinks, “Oh yeah, I could see that.”
• That a student felt comfortable sharing such details is also emblematic of the times in which we live. Too Much Information (TMI). Students now are very willing to share details that would remain private in the past. “I spent the morning in the emergency room” would suffice for me.
• I would not be surprised if she/he posted this information on Facebook, probably with pictures! What is TMI for me is “the news” for our students.

Given the proliferation of piercings in other parts of our students’ bodies I will now forever live in fear of opening email from students. I do not look forward to reading the words “sorry I wasn’t in class but my nipple ring got pulled out and I spent the morning getting my nipple sewed back on.”