There are some skills in life which set people apart from
the common herd. The talent to play a musical
instrument
well; an adeptness at sculpture or pyrotechnics; a
creative
wit; a suave sophisticated bearing; or the ability to
wiggle
one's ears.
Sadly, I am not able to wiggle my ears,
at least not
without using my hands or a motorized cap, which
detracts
from the effect.
Now, I know that I have ear-wiggling muscles - pretty
much everyone has. I know also that they are enervated
and connected to some dusty corner of my motor cortex.
I know also that, if I could manage that first tentative
twitch, I would be able to practice ear-wiggling until I
was
proficient almost to the point of self-propulsion.
But, with no visible manifestation of my efforts, there is
no starting point, nothing on which to build and improve.
Therefore, I would like to propose an aid for all those
people who share my affliction.
Since the ear-wiggling muscles (or, to use the
anatomical
term, the dextral and sinistral dolor ut permissum vos
crispico auribus vestris) lie just beneath a fairly thin
layer
of skin, it should be a matter of a few moments' work
with
some tin foil and superglue to rig up electrodes which
can
pick up the faintest stirrings of activity - myogenic
ripples
which are too weak and uncoordinated to achieve actual
wiggling.
With a suitable audio feedback, it is my unquenchable
belief that even the most non-ear-wiggling person will
soon learn to control these muscles, to the point where
motion can be perceived.
As an added aid, drinking straws glued to the backs of
the
ears will quiver at the first signs of auricular flexion,
providing an additional visual feedback in front of the
mirror.
No longer will you be unjustly held back in life, and no
longer will you suffer from auricular immobility.