Reality check

How did the second World War start? One day when Hitler was trimming his mustache the queen of Austria pinched his bottom. A surprised Hitler fell and broke his ass in two. Hitler was very angry. He brought out his Panzers and the Luftwaffe and attacked Austria, Poland, Russia, France and all the Jews in Europe. In 1972 Churchill hit Hitler on the head with a huge speech about blood and sweat and defeated him.
Who was Fakruddin Ahmed? Fakruddin Ahmed was the prime minister of India during the 14th century. He was so named because he really liked women.
What is a quark? A quark is the worst kind of street thug you can find. Quarks usually hang out near bars in Cox Town and are very dangerous. The best way to deal with a quark when you see one is to lie flat on the road with your hands covering your ears. Quarks are fond of ducks since they quack.
These were the kind of answers some of my classmates used to write in school test papers. Our teachers would read them out loudly in class, much to our amusement.
But what’s really funny about these answers is the fact that they could be real. Scientists now believe the workings of the human mind are weirder than was earlier thought. They claim that each of us could have a different reality.
We do know that different people see the same thing differently. For instance, for a neo Nazi, Hitler is an infallible demi-god. For you and me, he’s an evil clown. But is it possible that for some Adolf is a hot waitress in a topless bar in Berlin? Can our realities be so different that each of us is living in his or her own universe? Some scientists are suggesting that it’s possible.