--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They had to evacuate the grade school on…" description: "\"“They had to evacuate the grade school on Tuesday. Kids were getting headaches and eye irritations, tasting metal in their mouths. A teacher rolled on ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/don-delillo-294_fumes_they-had-to-evacuate-the-grade-school-on_2696714.jpg" --- # They had to evacuate the grade school on Tuesday. Kids… ![“They had to evacuate the grade school on Tuesday. Kids were getting headaches and eye irritations, tasting metal in their mouths. A teacher rolled on the floor and spoke foreign languages. No one knew what was wrong. Investigators said it could be the ventilating system, the paint or varnish, the…” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/don-delillo-294_fumes_they-had-to-evacuate-the-grade-school-on_2696714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/don-delillo-294_fumes_they-had-to-evacuate-the-grade-school-on_2696714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e1/don-delillo-294_fumes_they-had-to-evacuate-the-grade-school-on_2696714.jpg) > ““They had to evacuate the grade school on Tuesday. Kids were getting headaches and eye irritations, tasting metal in their mouths. A teacher rolled on the floor and spoke foreign languages. No one knew what was wrong. Investigators said it could be the ventilating system, the paint or varnish, the foam insulation, the electrical insulation, the cafeteria food, the rays emitted by microcomputers, the asbestos fireproofing, the adhesive on shipping containers, the fumes from the chlorinated pool, or perhaps something deeper, finer-grained, more closely woven into the basic state of things.”” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage lists countless possible causes for mysterious illness, suggesting that hidden, complex factors often underlie crises. **In simple terms:** Many unseen, intricate causes can drive problems. Key Takeaway Investigate deeper than obvious explanations. Themes complexity uncertainty environmental health Mood analytical cautious Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - public health - industrial safety - environmental policy - investigations Key Concepts systems thinking diagnostics Questions to Reflect On - What hidden factors might you be overlooking? - How do you balance thoroughness with timely response? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis can paralyze action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Containers Fumes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/containers-fumes-2700575/) [Evacuate Grade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evacuate-grade-2700577/) [Fumes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fumes-265995/) [Fumes Chlorinated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fumes-chlorinated-2700574/) [Investigators Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investigators-said-2700576/) ## Related quotes > [“His mouth is full of ecology, his mind is full of fumes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/his-mouth-is-full-of-ecology-his-mind-is-full-of-fumes/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Here comes the time when, vibrating on its stem, every flower fumes like a censer; noises and perfumes circle in the evening air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/here-comes-the-time-when-vibrating-on-its-stem-every-flower-fumes/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“Sheehan's Pool Room, which adorns one of the lesser alleys in the heart of Chicago's stockyard district, is not a nice place. Its air,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/sheehan-s-pool-room-which-adorns-one-of-the-lesser-alleys-in-the/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [A club there is of smokers--dare you come To that close, clouded, hot, narcotic room? When, midnight past, the very candles seem Dying for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/a-club-there-is-of-smokers-dare-you-come-to-that-close-clouded-hot/) [George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/) > [If you're running on fumes, you get to a point of diminishing results. Get some rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-pagano/if-you-re-running-on-fumes-you-get-to-a-point-of-diminishing-results/) [Chuck Pagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-pagano/) > [I don't think it would be fun to write after inhaling art fumes. (What are art fumes?) No, I just make stuff up. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-don-t-think-it-would-be-fun-to-write-after-inhaling-art-fumes-what/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Fumes of wine shorten the long road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bai-juyi/fumes-of-wine-shorten-the-long-road/) [Bai Juyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bai-juyi/) > [“2:74-75 FUMES Clean clothes and expensive accessories will not cover a blackened core. The smoldering sends out smoke through the crevices. You brush the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bahauddin/2-74-75-fumes-clean-clothes-and-expensive-accessories-will-not-cover/) [Bahauddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bahauddin/) > [“RVM Thoughts for Today - "Some people emit negative fumes, while others vibrate POSITIVE ENERGY. Stay close to the Positive ones; otherwise you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/rvm-thoughts-for-today-some-people-emit-negative-fumes-while-others/) [RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rvm/) > [We run on fumes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-antebellum/we-run-on-fumes/) [Lady Antebellum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-antebellum/) > [Some people emit negative fumes, while others vibrate POSITIVE ENERGY. Stay close to the Positive ones; otherwise you will be smoked to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-emit-negative-fumes-while-others-vibrate-positive-energy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The fumes are killing us, and we wonder why things are going haywire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bernhard/the-fumes-are-killing-us-and-we-wonder-why-things-are-going-haywire/) [Sandra Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bernhard/) > [The only reason I lost to Aldo Montoya was the intoxicating fumes there were coming off his body from being around Jake Roberts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lawler/the-only-reason-i-lost-to-aldo-montoya-was-the-intoxicating-fumes/) [Jerry Lawler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-lawler/) > [“Jesus, you get sentimental when you're high on paint fumes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/jesus-you-get-sentimental-when-you-re-high-on-paint-fumes/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [I don't want to live anywhere where I'm breathing two million cars' fumes and paying a zillion dollars for the right to be totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/i-don-t-want-to-live-anywhere-where-i-m-breathing-two-million-cars/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Fumes quotes > [“His mouth is full of ecology, his mind is full of fumes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/his-mouth-is-full-of-ecology-his-mind-is-full-of-fumes/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Jesus, you get sentimental when you're high on paint fumes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/jesus-you-get-sentimental-when-you-re-high-on-paint-fumes/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [The only reason I lost to Aldo Montoya was the intoxicating fumes there were coming off his body from being around Jake Roberts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lawler/the-only-reason-i-lost-to-aldo-montoya-was-the-intoxicating-fumes/) [Jerry Lawler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-lawler/) > [The fumes are killing us, and we wonder why things are going haywire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bernhard/the-fumes-are-killing-us-and-we-wonder-why-things-are-going-haywire/) [Sandra Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bernhard/) > [Some people emit negative fumes, while others vibrate POSITIVE ENERGY. Stay close to the Positive ones; otherwise you will be smoked to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-emit-negative-fumes-while-others-vibrate-positive-energy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We run on fumes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-antebellum/we-run-on-fumes/) [Lady Antebellum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-antebellum/) > [“RVM Thoughts for Today - "Some people emit negative fumes, while others vibrate POSITIVE ENERGY. Stay close to the Positive ones; otherwise you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/rvm-thoughts-for-today-some-people-emit-negative-fumes-while-others/) [RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rvm/) > [“2:74-75 FUMES Clean clothes and expensive accessories will not cover a blackened core. The smoldering sends out smoke through the crevices. You brush the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bahauddin/2-74-75-fumes-clean-clothes-and-expensive-accessories-will-not-cover/) [Bahauddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bahauddin/) > [Fumes of wine shorten the long road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bai-juyi/fumes-of-wine-shorten-the-long-road/) [Bai Juyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bai-juyi/) > [I don't think it would be fun to write after inhaling art fumes. (What are art fumes?) No, I just make stuff up. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-don-t-think-it-would-be-fun-to-write-after-inhaling-art-fumes-what/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If you're running on fumes, you get to a point of diminishing results. Get some rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-pagano/if-you-re-running-on-fumes-you-get-to-a-point-of-diminishing-results/) [Chuck Pagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-pagano/) > [A club there is of smokers--dare you come To that close, clouded, hot, narcotic room? When, midnight past, the very candles seem Dying for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/a-club-there-is-of-smokers-dare-you-come-to-that-close-clouded-hot/) [George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/) > [“Sheehan's Pool Room, which adorns one of the lesser alleys in the heart of Chicago's stockyard district, is not a nice place. Its air,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/sheehan-s-pool-room-which-adorns-one-of-the-lesser-alleys-in-the/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [Here comes the time when, vibrating on its stem, every flower fumes like a censer; noises and perfumes circle in the evening air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/here-comes-the-time-when-vibrating-on-its-stem-every-flower-fumes/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [I don't want to live anywhere where I'm breathing two million cars' fumes and paying a zillion dollars for the right to be totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/i-don-t-want-to-live-anywhere-where-i-m-breathing-two-million-cars/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) [Browse all 18 Fumes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fumes-265995/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They had to evacuate the grade school on Tuesday. 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