George Whipple develops right, lower quadrant abdominal pain and after spiking a fever is taken to ED where appendicitis is diagnosed. Next, he is placed on a gurney and moved to the OR. There, his name is written on the whiteboard beside his room number in the operation theatre where the general surgeon on call will perform the procedure to remove his appendix. Meanwhile, Dr. Star, a harried and ill prepared surgeon, is rushing to the OR to start his pancreaticoduodenectomy for the day when he asks the head nurse “where is the Whipple today?” …

The Jones family moves into their new home excitedly planning to put down roots in an established neighborhood known for its abundant and mature mango trees. To stop kids who live nearby from “harvesting” fallen mangoes, Mr. Jones builds a chain-linked fence around his lot’s perimeter. What he considers a property improvement triggers a thread on NextDoor about the fence’s ugliness both aesthetically and philosophically because long-time residents of the area pride themselves on the park-like vibe of the neighborhood. Mr. Jones is unaware of this discussion thread and thinks his open gate signals neighbors to step into his garden—as long as no mangoes leave.

Patrick and Brock are toddlers who frequently demonstrate their dislike of Travis by pummeling him with stuffed toys or launching them into his playpen. While Travis is always at the receiving end of their ill will and air born toys, he catches them with agility and gives them to Taylor, who then bursts into song about Jonas, another toddler who no longer plays in the playpen. …

Everyone knows the tale of Poison Ivy. She is poisoned and becomes immune to all natural toxins then uses her immunity as a way to exact her revenge on the world. . …

Poor Cynthia, she was always the last chosen. Her main “flaw” was always studying and reading anatomy textbooks. Cynthia joined a civilian expedition to explore the South Pole where she and her team would be isolated for the rest of winter to experience coping abilities in harsh conditions (in preparation for Mars). You know the rest: one of the intrepid researchers develops pain in their umbilicus and within hours the pain shifts to the lower right-hand quadrant, clearly following a classic presentation of appendicitis. …

Professor Siegfried, the local college’s physics genius, is given to eccentric, even peculiar behavior. He is sure that aliens captured him and took him to another galaxy via a wormhole between two black holes.   He is certain of this because he can feel worm-like structures in his left scrotum. Most disconcertingly, he shows his scrotum to his graduate students and demonstrates that the size of the “worms” can increase if he performs a Valsalva maneuver. He is immediately sent for psychiatric evaluation …

Mark wakes up each morning and heads to his kitchen for three cups of coffee. After showering and dressing, he goes to his job as a local disc jockey where he plays the latest “country hip hop” single releases. This genre-melding is driving Mark to madness; he often feels unbalanced even nauseous after ripping a song or two that both twangs and beats. Think Taylor Swift, but singing about drinking and driving a pick-up after leaving her bull-rider boyfriend who skipped town and is not making child support payments.   …

I am sure everyone has signed a digital “contract” prior to downloading an app onto their phone. Does anyone truly understand what they have signed? Does anyone ever read the fine print? Could they not be giving away their first born to some AI entity?

Adrian’s dream job after college was to become a Wall Street stockbroker. He went about pursuing this ambition by taking a job at the Waldorf-Astoria as a porter hoping to make contacts with hotel guests who’ve already succeeded in his chosen field as he takes their luggage to their rooms. Sure enough he does. A principal at the city’s premier brokerage firm is a frequent guest who eventually invites our wannabe stockbroker Adrian to travel with him to Brazil’s Amazon Forest while serving as the expedition’s porter.   …

Q is a general surgeon whose hobby is adapting gadgets for his intricate surgeries. In fact, his reputation as a creative sort spreads far and wide and he often is invited to speak at national meetings. To impress, he frequently appears at these meetings driving his Aston Martin with an ejector seat and license plate, 007.  …