Brenda (40) is a fat woman. She has been hypnotizing a willing younger colleague, Dan, for a few weeks, and he’s an excellent hypnotic subject. He’s getting easier and easier to put into deeper and deeper trance. After every session, Brenda makes Dan forget everything that happened, and the next time she asks if he’d be willing to give hypnosis a try he always thinks it’s the first time.

It’s a stifling day in the office. Brenda interrupts a conversation Dan is having with Lucy, another colleague. “Hey, Dan. Have you ever been hypnotized?” she asks.

Dan and Lucy look at her with puzzlement. “Er, no Brenda,” says Dan. “Never. Why do you ask?”

Lucy giggles.