Sims don't understand "Stop, Drop and Roll".

I didn't have as much time for Polly Experiment this weekend as I would have liked. I had quite a bit of actual work to accomplish, but I did take a little bit of time to teach my husband, Alex, the basics of the game. You see, he played the old school SimCity back in the day, but now only ever plays NHL '09. And I just can't stand sports games. They aren't even fun to watch. And if he doesn't win a game, he doesn't save and replays the same match until he does. So boring.

Anyway, he asked to try out my game, and since I haven't had time to indulge, I got him set up. I taught him the money cheat and everything. He had a nice household going for himself. His Sim had a job, too, for a couple of days. But then he got fired and, seeing that he is independently wealthy, decided to work on scoring some friends and skill points at home. These are important to have once he re-enters the work-force.

So happily little Sim Alex went along painting and cooking and making passes at the maid. I strongly discouraged this last behavior because it seems to make her less diligent at work and is kinda sleezy and all. But, whatev. Sim life went on.

Until Sim Alex went to make himself (and his date, the maid) hamburgers. Suddenly, he starts yelping and jumping about. Then, he bursts into flames. Real Alex was beside himself. "What do I do?!?" Well, I couldn't help since my Sims were never dumb enough to catch themselves on fire before. Their kitchens, sure, but never their little bodies. We watched in horror as the Grim Reaper came to decide if Sim Alex was to have another chance. The maid cried, but ultimately it was of little use. Sim Alex turned into an urn. Then, the Grim Reaper settled in to watch some TV and chat up the maid, who got over her grief pretty quickly. What a trashy woman.

Luckily, Real Alex exited the household without saving, so Sim Alex has actually been saved from death by essentially getting sent back in time.

I am sure there is some important life lesson somewhere in all of this.