I've been following the discussions on a message board for incoming Harvard Law students at a website called HLcentral.com. Many of the posts have actually been pretty helpful -- about which cell phone providers have the best service, how first-year recruiting works, what banks have branches near campus, whether it's useful to be part of a study group -- but some posts have been simply inane. I feel bad for saying that, because I'm sure the people who posted had legitimate questions and just didn't realize exactly what they were asking... but I can't resist sharing some of the highlights. They're all taken verbatim from the website (except I've corrected some typos).

"A tiny matter, I know, but I'd love a response: I'm trying to budget for food and such, and I was wondering if the tap water in the dorms is potable." (The reply, which was funnier than the question: "Have you ever been to Cambridge before? I'll assume not. You should rest assured though that the Law School is not located in a place akin to Cambodia. Cambridge is a fully function city where they do have tap water that meets various health regulations.")

"With the passing of baseball legend Ted Williams over the weekend, I've (for some reason) heard a lot about the tunnel in Boston named after him. Is this something that connects the Cambridge area at all?" (I love the preface... "with the passing of...")

"I'm going to be in [the dorms] next year, and I wonder what the kitchens are like. Are some pots and pans available, or do we need to bring all those? Any common ingredients available?" (Uh, do you really want to use someone's else's pots and pans? And I know by common ingredients she probably meant salt and sugar and stuff, but on first read it sounds a little messed up, doesn't it?)

"I know there are common bathrooms in the [dorms], but there are separate shower stalls (with a door/curtain), right?" (Come on...!)

"I'm from Texas, so we're not used to much cold weather here. Are there any special items/clothes that I need to buy to handle the cold weather?"

And, finally... (and I swear I am not making this up -- check the website!)

"I was just wondering about how we go to the bathroom at HLS. Do you just walk out of class, or must you raise your hand and ask permission from the Professor? My old high school made us raise our hands, and then get a bathroom pass from the Professor. I figured HLS would do something like this, makes sense. But I might be embarrassed y'know? :) Does anyone know how to get fake bathroom hall passes so we can just leave class without making the hand-raising scene?"