Pavlov’s Audiophile

by Chriss Cornish published: April 25, 2011 No Comments

I love HEARING a good story; audio books, original audio plays, old time radio episodes, etc.

I also like tuna fish sandwiches.

These two things have combined to turn me into Pavlov’s audiophile.

How It All Began

There’s a British company called Big Finish that produces original Doctor Who audio plays and radio dramas featuring the original actors from the classic TV show.

I had just gotten my CD of their 5th doctor story Axis of Evil. It was dinner time and I thought, “I could really go for a tuna fish sandwich for dinner.” So I walked down to the nearby Henry’s grocery store and procured said fishy delight from their deli section.

By the by, Henry’s has AWESOME tuna fish sandwiches.

Tasty tuna sandwich in hand, I walked home, popped my Doctor Who: Axis of Evil audio play CD in my computer and commenced chowing down. Great dinner, good audio adventure.

I Was a Slave to Tuna

Okay, maybe I’ve been reading a little too many old comic book frames over on Comically Vintage with that last title. But you SO know where this is going…

When you’ve got a good audio book or audio play you listen to them more than once. So, a few weeks later I was in the mood to listen to Axis of Evil again. I opened the album up in my iTunes, clicked ‘play’, and two minutes later thought to myself, “I could really go for a tuna fish sandwich.”

So I hit ‘pause’, hopped in the car, and went down to Henry’s to get a tuna sandwich. I returned with my tasty tuna treat and started my audio play back up.

A few months later I was in the mood for a tuna sandwich for dinner. I swung by Henry’s to pick one up and began nomming away. A minute later I thought, “I’m kind of in the mood to listen to Axis of Evil.” So I opened up iTunes and started the audio play going.

I had become Pavlov’s Audiophile. Like the dog in Pavlov’s classic conditioning experiment who drooled happy, diner-anticipating slobber when a bell rang, I was now conditioned. I’d unwittingly trained myself to think “tuna sandwich” when I heard this particular 5th Doctor audio play, and “Axis of Evil audio play” when I saw a tuna sandwich.

I’m drooling right now. I could really go for a tuna fish sandwich. And I kind of want to listen to Big Finish’s audio play Doctor Who: Axis of Evil.

Stupid conditioning.

But I think to myself, I think, that I can’t be the only one who has done something like this. I can’t be the only one who has gotten to the point where they hear or read a particular book and then want a particular food.

Can I?