The most interesting person in the world

The television ads for Dos Equis beer crack me up! They build up a mythology about a man with the following qualities:

• His legend precedes him, the way lightning precedes thunder.
• His personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards.
• He never says something tastes like chicken - not even chicken.
• His beard alone has experienced more than a lesser man's entire body.
• He's been known to cure narcolepsy just by walking into a room.
• He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels.
• He lives vicariously - through himself.
• His charm is so contagious, vaccines have been created for it.
• His blood smells like cologne.
• In museums he is allowed to touch the art.
• Even his enemies list him as their emergency contact number.
• People hang on his every word, even the prepositions.
• He can speak French - in Russian.
• He wouldn't be afraid to show his feminine side - if he had one.

If you have not seen the commercials, they are all collected here. And here is the associated website The Most Interesting Academy, which was "founded in an unknown year by a group of fascinating people whose names have been lost to history (probably intentionally)." The most interesting man in the world, played by Jonathan Goldsmith, is the Academy's distinguished emeritus, grand benefactor, and patron sage. "I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis," he says. As one cultural critic puts it, "The most interesting man in the world, by definition, would not be found enthusiastically endorsing a mass-market consumer product." In other words, he will drink the beer he's selling when he damn well pleases, but bloggers suggest that he prefers scotch. In any event, stay thirsty my friends.