Densa
Densa is a fictional parody association of Mensa International. "Densa" is a play on the words: "Mensa" and "dense." It is a fictional society analgous to Mensa. Just as Mensa is a society for people who have an exceptionally high IQ, Densa would be a society for people with an exceptionally low IQ. The word is usually used for comical or satirical effect. For example, some one might say a member of Mensa is a member of Densa or should be a member of Densa for doing something dumb. It is almost always used in a light-hearted manner with a wink and a nod. [1][2][3][4][5]
The concept of an organization for the mentally dense originated in "Boston & Outskirts Mensa Bulletin (BOMB)", August, 1974, in "A-Bomb-inable Puzzle II" by John D. Coons. The puzzle involved "The Boston chapter of Densa, the low IQ society." Subsequent issues had additional puzzles with gags about the group, and were widely reprinted by the bulletins of other Mensa groups, before the concept of a low IQ group gained wider circulation in the 1970s, with other people creating quizzes, etc.[6] A humor book called the The Densa Quiz: The Official & Complete Dq Test of the International Densa Society was written in 1983 by Stephen Price and J. Webster Shields.[7] cite news | last = McGowan | first = William | title = A Sense of Belonging | publisher = The New York Times | date = 1987-08-23 | url = http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=956947011&sid=6&Fmt=2&clientId=76566&RQT=309&VName=PQD | accessdate = 2007-06-28 }} Not available through New York Times archival service, but available through Proquest.</ref>
References
- ↑ Boxer, Sarah (1999-11-13). "What's the Opposite of a Tree? Ask the Testers at Mensa's Gate". The New York Times. pp. B13. Check date values in:
|date=(help);|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ↑ Queenan, Joe (1989-03-28). "You Wanna Be a Wacko, You Gotta Pay the Dues". The Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition). p. 1.
Says Densa is one of many groups who are "the wacko patrol: the daffy, satirical organizations that never fail to tickle our funny bone with their zany antics."
Check date values in:|date=(help);|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ↑ Ward, Bruce (1999-05-17). "At Last: Mensa for Dummies". The Ottawa Citizen. Check date values in:
|date=(help);|access-date=requires|url=(help) Available on Lexis-Nexis. - ↑ Fisher, Sophie (1982-01-29). "Think You're Dumb? Densa Will Help You Find Joy in Stupidity". The Globe and Mail. Check date values in:
|date=(help);|access-date=requires|url=(help) Available through Lexis-Nexis. - ↑ "Genius is as Genius Does". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1995-01-17. Check date values in:
|date=(help);|access-date=requires|url=(help) Available through Lexis-Nexis. - ↑ Amyx, Meredy (June/July 2005). "The Origin of Densa". Interloc, a publication of American Mensa, Ltd. Retrieved 2007-06-28. Unknown parameter
|coauthors=ignored (help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ Price, Stephen (December 1983). The Densa Quiz: The Official & Complete Dq Test of the International Densa Society. Avon Books. p. 64. ISBN 978-0380855636. Unknown parameter
|coauthors=ignored (help); Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- A Densa site with image of a Densa diploma
- A Densa qualification test at a Mensa site.