I like also how in this sentence Sedaris uses "mystery...explained," which is a play on the killing the frog concept. So he shows how the the explanation killed the mystery - like disscection kills the frog - while setting up his joke anyway. Whether intentional or not, very meta.
Funny, funny, funny. It starts so innocently and organically then moves to become knowledgeable and mechanical. What I really like is the middle: 'in such a way that ...' which extends the sentence off the page into an event which you can imagine in many ways. Otherwise it would be: 'We enjoyed swimming, until the mystery of tides was explained as an enormous saltwater toilet, ....'. Factually about the same but direct and impersonal. It's interesting how the middle, with its indefinite terms, adds so much.
I like also how in this sentence Sedaris uses "mystery...explained," which is a play on the killing the frog concept. So he shows how the the explanation killed the mystery - like disscection kills the frog - while setting up his joke anyway. Whether intentional or not, very meta.
Funny, funny, funny. It starts so innocently and organically then moves to become knowledgeable and mechanical. What I really like is the middle: 'in such a way that ...' which extends the sentence off the page into an event which you can imagine in many ways. Otherwise it would be: 'We enjoyed swimming, until the mystery of tides was explained as an enormous saltwater toilet, ....'. Factually about the same but direct and impersonal. It's interesting how the middle, with its indefinite terms, adds so much.