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Geology
Every few years in Mediocritaxa are heard a natural phenomenon known by the local population as The Rumblings of Discontent. These rumblings erupt from the very belly of the earth below the city and affect the populus in a very frightening way, inflecting them for a period with a terrifying urge to be directly honest, to challenge each other and to break taboos.
Mediocritaxans deal with this terrible and fortunately infrequent period in a number of different ways:
1. (The most popular) To hide until the "storm" has passed. Anyone challenging the mediocrity is given a wide berth. Ears are plugged and no one is allowed to publicly mention or acknowledge the Rumblings of Discontent.
According to Mediocritaxans most revered psychologist, Dr Compromisiocretax: "The best way to overcome an attack of the Rumblings is to simply ignore them. Even better, treat them as a fiction, pretend they do not exist.
2. Mediocritaxans follow the advice of their philosophers and engage in a local pastime which counteract the most severe effects of the Rumblings. This pastime is called "Mock Praise".
Here is an example of mock praise taken from the Encyclopaedia Mediocrita:
"If you are faced suddenly with a rumbling such as this:
"The food in this inn isn't properly cooked and tastes like wood." Do not panic. Simply answer thus: "The chef tries his best and, besides, I quite like rock hard, cold potatoes."
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