The occasional appearances by the maniacal Sideshow Bob on television’s, The Simpsons, are among the best of the long-running series.

As noted on one blog, many writers for The Simpsons are Harvard alums. This group of writers takes many opportunities to mock their favorite rivals, Princeton and Yale, and occasionally themselves. Some examples:

-During the Sideshow Bob and Cecil episode, Bob and Cecil have and argument, during which Bob points out Cecil’s "four years in clown college", to which he replies, "I would prefer it if you not refer to Princeton in that manner"

-At the end of one of the Sideshow Bob episodes, Bob is returned to his minimum-security prison, where a boatful of rowers calls out to him to help row against "the alums from Princeton", causing him to say "[shudder], Princeton", and hop in.

Making fun of any uppity place came to mind when I read yesterday the Harvard Faculty Club had been closed earlier in the week after a possible norovirus outbreak.

Crista Martin, a spokeswoman for the school’s hospitality and dining services,
said several guests first reported feeling ill on Saturday, and that a response team along with the Cambridge Department of Public Health, on Tuesday believed that a person or persons with the virus passed it on to people at the club.

Louise Rice, director of public health nursing for the city of Cambridge, said more than 10 people became ill after eating at the Faculty Club. But, she added, officials have not yet determined whether they were infected with a norovirus.

Jennifer Manley, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health, said the school and the Cambridge Public Health Department are investigating a possible norovirus contamination at the club.