Free Radicals

I love science. I especially love the funny things people come up with to try to explain science. Ever been to the hospital and had a doctor try to tell you what's going on in your body? I've never personally been in the hospital, but I've had doctors make analogies to both plates of spaghetti and cars to try to help me understand (little do they know, I am a brilliant biology student). I always wonder where they come up with those things...is there a class in medical school where they say, "ok students, when a patient's family comes in, you can use this strange analogy to tell them what's going on for this case, and this strange analogy for this case"? or do doctors lay awake at night trying to think of how to explain things, and that's just what they come up with?

ANYway, what made me think of all this is a hilarious explanation my facebook friend shared from her textbook.

"think of paired electrons as a married couple. a free radical would be an extremely seductive outsider...in an attempt to stabilize itself, a free radical will "steal" from the neighboring couple in turn generating more unstable radicals."  

Like I said....I love science! and science writers.