Reason 149

Our go-to dance. Way back in the 1960's an innovator named Charles Washington popularized the most awesome dance in the entire universe - The Robot. His mechanical moves didn't catch on until the Jackson 5 showcased them during a performance of "Dancin' Machine," and then it seemed that everywhere you turned people were swinging one arm back and forth from the elbow, pantomiming to a funky beat. Breakdancing was becoming a phenomenon and since white folks, for the most part, can't pop and lock their way out of a paper bag, it was only natural we would appropriate these mannequin-like moves. Years later, rhymically-challenged peeps are still miming to music, including the two of us, Jason. You have busted out your robotic moves on HIMYM and a few weeks ago some photos of you showboating for Justin Timberlake on the set of Bad Teacher were posted on-line. Whenever I ask my students to show me they're finished with a task by performing a happy dance in their seats, my gears start spinning and I bust out my Robot moves, much to their delight (and mortification, I'm sure). In fact, I just took a break from typing so I could get my robot freak on while listening to Shakira on Idol. Once we're friends we'll have to have a dance-off, perhaps to Styx's masterpiece "Mr. Roboto." Yes, the video gave me nightmares as a kid, but it is the quintessential song for showing off one's Robot repertoire. Consider the gauntlet thrown, dear sir.