Perfumed from an unseen censer

[cimorene]

Dear Editor: Just as I suspected: Homeland Security is everywhere, invading our most private moments -- even in the hospital! In the article “New imaging systems to help diagnose back pain," we are told that our pain might be pinpointed by “a few computerized censors" touching our flesh! What have the Republicans wrought!

We should have listened to Edgar Allan Poe, who warned us in “The Raven" of these lurking interlopers. He pointed out that -- even if they are invisible -- we can detect them by their smell:

“Then methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer ..."

A letter to the editor from my hometown newspaper, forwarded by my dad. FTW!

Comments

[wonapalei.livejournal.com]

...I get that "sensor" and "censor" are two different things, but "censor" and "censer" are also two different things. Or is the letter-writer mocking the original typo by deliberately creating one of his own?

Or am I just not getting it at all?

[cimness.livejournal.com]

A homonym confusion is not actually a typo, since the latter is a slip of the fingers and the former springs from either a temporary or a permanent sort of dyslexia - or a simple ignorance of spelling. And I think that was exactly his point. So I don't think there's any fact you've missed, but I guess if you don't think a joke is funny, you just don't.

[guinevere33.livejournal.com]

...Wow. I can't quite decide if the author is a moron or a secret genius.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

I am perfectly confident that the joke was intended! Which is fairly subtle, and really funny, but I'm not positive it's actually genius.