A collection of essays which dissects the whos, the whats, and the wherefores of the ways we live and examines our origins, eccentricities and foibles. What constitutes an initiation rite in our society? Why are we so squeamish about eating offal? What are we to make of the Easter Bunny (a male rodent, remember, that produces eggs)? and what are the unsavory implications of Santa Claus? Each one of a wide variety of ordinary objects and typical behavioural habits is made to yield up what it has to tell us about the way we are, and how we became this way. The essays present a portrait of ourselves, and aims to promote thought on what exactly it means to be modern.