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Squid #362
(published December 27, 2007)
Ask the Giant Squid: Of Superpowers And Powerball
Who is Poor Mojo's Giant Squid?
Dear Giant Squid,

There was a piece on the radio that I heard a little while ago where the interviewer went around asking people that if they could have a super power which would they pick: flight or invisibility. I was wondering which one you'd choose.

Sincerely,
Hayley

(P.S. Here's the link to the piece so you can hear it: This American Life #178: Superpowers)


Dearest Hayley,

To be entirely French in the matter, more than either of these, I would prefer to be able to access the full arcanum trivialHow many beans lie within this jar? Are you the fifteenth caller? Who put the "bop" in the "bop-shoo-wop-shoo-wop"? — those shibboleths used all too often upon the radio and at the strip-mall openings and school Family Fun Fairs to sort, Arthur-like, the rightful owner of the brand new Schwinn bicycle, VIP tickets to view Bruce O' Springstream, or two gift certificates to the Leo's Coney Island restaurant from the Pretenders to the Prize. Perhaps this sounds petty — these are, after all, small matters when compared to the ability to defy fundamental physical laws — but the accrual of such treasures . . . well, as the phrase implies, it does add up.

But, what I desire much more than either flight or invisibility (or even to predict the peregrinations of the Powerball) is to know, most truly, which would you choose, and what perversion would you wrack upon the earth with this power?

Please show all work.

I Remain Gliding Invisibly,
Your Giant Squid

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see other pieces by this author | Who is Poor Mojo's Giant Squid? Read his blog posts and enjoy his anthem (and the post-ironic mid-1990s Japanese cover of same)

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