Tetris is one of the oldest computer games ever made. It is a popular game for SSI students, who are often spotted playing them in study halls, and some bad students even play it during lectures (I would never!). However, did you know that this simple pastime is actually recommended to people who just experienced severe traumatic events? It is even suggested to play tetris right after seeing a dead body. Why is that?  After extreme traumatic events, people can get a mental disorder named PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). An important part of this disorder is repeatedly getting flashbacks of the traumatic incident, deeply disturbing the person affected. However, a fun solution to this problem has been studied. Emily Holmes and other researchers hypothesized that the effect of playing a visually intensive game such as tetris would lessen the traumatizing flashbacks. They tested their hypothesis with victims of motor vehicle accidents, and found that, “those who had played Tetris had fewer intrusive memories” (“Tetris Used to Prevent Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms | University of Oxford”).  Although more long term studies are needed to test this phenomenon, it is interesting that a game used to distract SSI students from painfully boring lectures can have such an important use. For the time being, let’s try to listen to lectures without playing tetris (unless someone is killed during the lecture). “Tetris Used to Prevent Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms | University of Oxford.” Www.ox.ac.uk, 28 Mar. 2017, www.ox.ac.uk/news/2017-03-28-tetris-used-prevent-post-traumatic-stress-symptoms.  By Evelyn Joo