The Moon and Tides and Parisians

Got up early today because the carpenter was coming to fix something at 8am. While surfing on BBC half-asleep I came across an article about the "Paris Syndrome" from 2006. I'd kind of heard about it while I was living there, but I didn't know that about a dozen people are affected by it every year.

"That is what some polite Japanese tourists suffer when they discover that Parisians can be rude or the city does not meet their expectations. The experience can apparently be too stressful for some and they suffer a psychiatric breakdown."

"This year alone (2006), the Japanese embassy in Paris has had to repatriate four people with a doctor or nurse on board the plane to help them get over the shock. ... On average, up to 12 Japanese tourists a year fall victim to it, mainly women in their 30s with high expectations of what may be their first trip abroad. ... However, the only permanent cure is to go back to Japan - never to return to Paris."

Yes, we all know that Parisians suck (even Parisians will admit to it), but psychiatric breakdowns, really? I know we're a sensitive bunch of people accustomed to cushy customer service, but still. I shouldn't make fun of people suffering breakdowns, but I find this slightly comic.

Anywho. Totally unrelated comic. This is my preferred explanation of how tides work: