We’ve all been there: speaking confidently mid-conversation, making perfect sense… and suddenly your mouth hits a pothole. A word trips, your tongue scrambles, and you produce a sound that can only be described as verbal static. You don’t have a stutter, you’re not panicking, and yet somehow, you’ve just forgotten how to speak like a functioning human being. It’s almost like a broken record, glitching and repeating the same three words ‘you can’t speak’, forcing you to just stand up and simply just walk away from the conversation.
So why does this happen?

For some people, the slightest noise awakens them at night like the creak of a floorboard. But for others, the wailing siren of a fire truck doesn’t disturb their slumber. Just why, though, remains a bit of a mystery.

Viruses are feared for a reason – they hijack our cells, copy themselves using our host cell machinery, and then destroy the cells in a process called lysis. Basically, they’re the unwanted guests that trash the house before leaving. Not ideal for staying healthy… unless you’re a virus, of course. Then it’s party time. All viruses are bad for our health, right?
Wrong.

Below, I have written a mostly humorous and hypothetical political manifesto that could well be used in the 2040 General Election; during which I will be hopefully launching such a manifesto as my electoral platform! I hope to count on all, and I mean all, of your votes!

Have you ever been in an intriguing conversation but suddenly ‘lose your hearing’ as they say something. So, you awkwardly laugh and say ‘yes’ or nod your head like you heard them, the itching feeling of what they said nagging you at the back of your brain. When moments later, you suddenly remember what they’ve said, replying appropriately to them. But only to leave them looking confused to say, ‘you only just answered the question I asked you 5 minutes ago, now?’