Lessons from my extraordinary experience of acquiring followers

A few years ago, a group of researchers stumbled upon a female lemur engaging in a bizarre ritual. In her left hand was a millipede, freshly plucked from the forest floor. As the scientists watched, the lemur munched briefly on the millipede’s body, gnawing greedily until it oozed orange — and proceeded to rub the saliva-slicked drippings vigorously over her genitals, anus, and tail. After a well-earned break, she concluded the ordeal by gulping down the millipede’s spent body — but this encore act seemed to play second fiddle to her slathering…