The Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome

I was clued into this phenomenon by a colleague at work, but Googling for it turned up a rather fascinating piece of research by Mike Adams of ECSU:

The Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome and the Potential Downfall Of American Society

It has long been theorized that the week prior to an exam is an extremely dangerous time for the relatives of college students. Ever since I began my teaching career, I heard vague comments, incomplete references and unfinished remarks, all alluding to the "Dead Grandmother Problem." Few colleagues would ever be explicit in their description of what they knew, but I quickly discovered that anyone who was involved in teaching at the college level would react to any mention of the concept.

The basic problem can be stated very simply: A student's grandmother is far more likely to die suddenly just before the student takes an exam, than at any other time of year.

Check out the entire report here.