Mush

Flash Fiction by Phil Temples

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The earworm pandemic initially started after an anonymous user in Asia posted a song to YouTube. The tune lasted exactly three minutes and five seconds. It had a soothing, yet baffling effect on the listener. Thanks to coverage by all the major media outlets, it wasn’t too long before the song reached global earworm status. 

Just weeks into the pandemic, the scientific community made a startling discovery about the effects of the song on the human brain: listening to the tune turned one’s hypothalamus into “mush.” It literally turned the world’s population into idiots.

And that, my dear friends, is why Deaf people now rule the world.

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Phillip Temples has lived in the greater Boston area for many decades. He's published a number mystery-thriller novels, a novella, and four story anthologies in addition to over 220 short stories. He is a member of GrubStreet and the Bagel Bards.