"OMG!!" someone excitable writes on Facebook.
"I got Yoda! Who will you get?"
Pausing only to curse, yet again, the stuff that you're liable to receive via Facebook, I look at the link she had enclosed. It relates to one of these pop quizzes so beloved of popular US news and entertainment sites: "Which Star Wars character are you?"
These quizzes have lots of eager followers. They're easy to ignore, though I was troubled by a recent one that asked "Who is your favourite Disney character?" Troubled, because I wasn't ready to publicly declare that I like Frozen and that I have a sneaking regard for plucky Elsa, Snow Queen of Arendelle.
The latest quiz, however, had a decidedly serious point - "What's your brain age?" I glanced at its list of statements, drawn up by a noted clinical professor of neurology in the States, and was immediately hooked.
They all came with yes/no boxes but here and there I thought I'd aid the research process with questions of my own.
l "I get seven to eight or more hours of sleep each night." I click the no box and add: "Seriously, you've got to be joking. Who at my age gets that much sleep without recourse to prescribed sleeping tablets?"
l "I eat at least five or more servings of fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants daily." Again, I select no, adding: "Do two fruit scones every day count?"
l "I drink red wine or grape juice at least five times a week." Again, no. M&S Chardonnay, though - that's a whole other story.
l "I exercise most days of the week for at least 30 minutes each time." Again, no. Does hoovering the living room count as exercise? (Speaking of which, one of my cats takes fright whenever I switch the Hoover on. Like nature, he abhors a vacuum).
l "I eat a Mediterranean-style diet." I regretfully click no. Are chips part of the Med diet? Fruit scones? White wine? In which case, I'm sorted.
l "I use olive oil and no trans-fat spreads instead of butter or margarine." No, sadly. I do feel bad about this, if that's any help.
l "I do not have a sleep disorder such as snoring or obstructive sleep apnea or untreated insomnia." Good question. You had me at "snoring" ...
l "Daily uncontrolled stress is not a problem for me." In this job? Of course it is.
At the end, I'm reluctant to discover my brain age. I don't want to tempt fate, and anyway, it's probably in three figures.
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