“You have died of dysentery.”

From: The Oregon Trail

Genre: Video games

Who said it?: Narrator of the game

The story behind the quote: This popular quote comes from the classic video game The Oregon Trail. The game was originally released in 1974 but has been remade several times with updated graphics and the like. It was probably one of the first educational video games and taught kids about 19th century pioneer life. The goal of the game is to successfully make the trek from Missouri to Oregon by going along the fabled Oregon Trail.

The game is fret with perils and numerous ways to die. One of the most common ways for your party of settlers to meet their end is by dysentery. This can come from out of nowhere and there isn’t any real way to prevent this. Since kids have probably never encountered the word before, the phrase has become etched in their minds as well as popular culture.

Geek wisdom: Death is something that can come for us at any time. It can come in the most unexpected of times as well. We can try to prepare for it as much as we want but, ultimately, when it is your time, it is your time. As we have no idea when our bell will be rung, it’s best to make the most of our time while we are still on the planet.

Author: Victor de la Cruz

Most of my childhood (and adult life) was spent doing a lot of geeky stuff: watching TV, playing video games and going to the movies. To some, it may have been a waste of time. Well, to me, it has made me what I am today... a geeky adult. I actually write for a couple of blogs, namely: geekwisdom.wordpress.com 3rdworldgeeks.com gamemoir.com Please check them out! View all posts by Victor de la Cruz