The latest news from Egypt is that archeologists found a pharaoh’s butler in an underground tomb. I always wonder in these situations whether the butler was dead before he got wrapped up.
I can imagine the scene 3,000 years ago at the reading of the pharaoh’s will. The butler is standing there all hopeful, thinking “I finally have my freedom. Now all I want is that golden goblet that was over the fireplace, and I’m set for life. I told him a thousand times how much I liked it. Please, please, please.”
Then the Egyptian lawyer reads the will, and when it gets to the part about the butler it says, “Wrap up what-his-name and stick him in the tomb. I might need him in the afterlife.”
Worst… boss… ever.
For the record, I believe that any kind of work is noble. We can’t all be pharaohs. Someone has to answer the door. But I doubt the archeologists were feeling that way when they discovered the mummy of a butler. It’s probably embarrassing when the archeaologists get together. I can imagine the introductions:
“This is Bob; he found Ramses II. And this is Larry; he found Tutankhamen. And this is Bruce; he found that butler. You all remember the butler, right?”
And then Larry – who is sort of an asshole in archeological circles – would say something like, “Butler, eh? I have three of those in my garage, and I turned the fourth one into a coffee table for my guest house. It takes a lot of sanding.”
I can’t wait to see the traveling exhibit of the butler mummy. For marketing reasons, they’ll probably shorten the name, the same way Tutankhamen became Tut. Anyway, I assume the “But” exhibit will visit the smaller venues that can’t afford things like a dead pharaoh or a school system.
I don’t imagine the But exhibit would command a high ticket price, and the promoters probably need to offer something extra. Perhaps they could encourage visitors to bring tweezers and take a little chunk of the butler mummy home with them, at least until it’s all gone. It would be a good deal, except for the people who bought a ticket for the last show.