Unfortunately, that is exactly how it often works. That was even the policy at the last restaurant I worked in—if the customer complained, you took off the gratuity, no questions asked. I understand you mean it shouldn't work that way, but there are too many people who are basically good-hearted but ignorant and…

I’m really glad you’re on this story, and seem to have become the designated reporter on sexual assault issues generally. Jezebel has had at least one writer who definitely shouldn’t have been covering rape stories, and I think I prefer your take even to other publications.

I cooked hamburgers on a dinky charcoal grill on a dark rooftop with only the light of six cell phones one Fourth of July. These were 2004-ish flip phones, not today’s smartphones with flashlight apps. In retrospect, this was pretty reckless, but as far as I know we got lucky and no one got sick.

I kinda want to play Bingo or something with your grandma.

That sucks! They should work on that. I can’t imagine you’re the only person this has happened to!

Yeah, but she could have imparted that important life lesson a little more kindly, considering she was dealing with a very young, very sick child.

Is there a way to take those meds other than swallowing them? Dissolving them under the tongue, or something? (I once read that you can put birth control pills in your vagina if you’re too sick to take them.) Not that I blame you for not thinking of that in the moment when you’re geysering from both ends; I’m just…

But you're disagreeing! You must be downright hysterical!

I can't speak for Pinkham, but he strikes me as the sort of fellow unconcerned with impressing idiots.

Um, no you can’t. Toilets on Amtrak have tanks, like airplanes and RVs. It’s not just open on the bottom.

I’m lazy. Can you summarize?

This deserves more stars. I hope you get to throw a bitchin’ anniversary party to make up for it.

No judgment; I had to look it up myself to make sure of the spelling. It’s just so hard to get good information as it is; I wanted her to at least be entering the correct search terms. ;)

Nitpick: it's "vulvodynia." But yes, she should def look into that.

I was eleven years old, on a trip to Kenya and Tanzania with my parents. (I think we were still in Kenya at this point, maybe on our way to Tanzania.) We had gotten all our shots and were being very diligent about taking our quinidine to prevent malaria and only drinking soda (even bottled water wasn’t necessarily…

Yeah, this would probably just lead to her being more convincing next time.

I dunno, this seems pretty nutso to me: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/06/can…

I’m surprised they believed you when you came out of the dressing room and said you were going to a prom at a different school now. (Also, I kind of think you could probably still have gone to your own prom once you got the dress, but what do I know?)

So much ugh. Men need to stop getting their validation by protecting their girlfriends. Get a hamster or something.

I flush my cat's poop, which usually has a few grains of litter stuck to it (but mostly just the dust—I use a corn-based litter) and it's been fine. I don't flush the pee clumps, though; those go in the trash.