A teacher hid an 'Alf' reference in the syllabus to see if students read it, and...

 By 
Andrea Romano
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Teachers: ask and you shall receive. Especially if what you're asking for is an inbox full of pictures of a furry alien.

Joseph A. Howley, a Classics professor at Columbia University in New York, decided to put a clever Easter egg in his syllabus this semester to make sure his students were paying attention.

My "are they reading the syllabus?" easter egg has yielded quantitatively dismal results but is still paying off. pic.twitter.com/OCTyV2Rtct— Joseph A. Howley (@hashtagoras) September 11, 2015


Buried deep in the document, Howley wrote, "If you've made it this far, please use [Google] images to find a picture of the '80s TV character Alf, and send it to me attached to an email with the subject line, 'It's Alf!'"

His students were clearly paying attention.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Howley was pleased -- or maybe less than pleased -- to find his inbox flooded with Alf emails, each featuring a unique moment from the iconic '80s primetime show that was long before their time.

One student sent Howley a shot of Alf about to eat his favorite snack, a kitten sandwich, reminding us that this show would never be greenlighted in 2015.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The "very controversial sandwich" is, of course, a kitten sub.— Joseph A. Howley (@hashtagoras) September 11, 2015

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Mashable reached out to Howley and we are eagerly awaiting his response about how many Alf pictures he has to deal with.

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