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Hi, everyone and welcome back to Happy Hour. 欢迎回来酒馆. Hi, 安澜.

Hi, Lulu, hi, everyone.

So what are we gonna talk about today?

I've got a question for you.

OK.

If you were given a magic stick that could grant you one wish, what would you wish for?

Is this some sort of genie in the bottle question?

No, just what would you wish for.

Well, you know me, I will be asking for unlimited wishes.

NO. NO. OK. So before you answer, let me ask you another question, would you just say the wish out loud without any terms or conditions? No fine print. No..., but make sure it doesn't backfire, the clauses.

Probably not. I would design an airtight, watertight, almost legal document like thing to make sure that I really rip all the benefits.

And you're not alone because at the moment there is this trend that's taken over social media both in China and in the west, and it's exactly about this dilemma. It's called the “One Wish Willow”.

One Wish Willow, hang on a minute. There's a new horror flick... isn't One Wish Willow from that like Obsession?

That's the one, yes. Have you seen it?

I watched clips of it, that woman really freaks me out.

It's a pretty decent film.

So you watched it?

I've watched it. I wouldn't say it was very scary. For me, I think it was a little bit hyped up, but I think the premise is quite good and it's also quite an old premise as well.

Okay.

So basically you snap a willow branch, you make a wish. It comes true.

它叫什么许愿柳是吧?

Yeah. But here's the catch. The wish gets granted in the most twisted, literal, horrifying way possible.

Yeah, so in that movie basically he wished for some sort of love related thing and then the girlfriend just turned into a freak.

Pretty much, that is it.

I guess the internet turned it into some sort of comedy where everyone's sharing their wishes.

Well, exactly. So people were sharing their perfect wishes, complete with legal disclaimers, loophole, closing clauses and terms and conditions.

So this is what we're gonna be talking about today. We are going to be going into the One Wish Willow phenomenon. And also more importantly, we're diving into the ancient warning behind it, be careful what you wish for.

First of all, let's talk about this saying “be careful what you wish for” or sometimes they just say “careful what you wish for”. I mean people said that to me before. So what does that actually mean?

It means that whatever you think is going to be good in the future, it might not be as good as you think it is. So I’ll give you a good example like our job. So when I moved full time to work for 酒馆, kind of working for my own company, I thought, oh brilliant, I'm gonna have lots of flexibility. I can do what I want. So I have the flexibility to just keep working without a day off.

They don't call us 创业狗 for nothing, right? You're as tired as a dog.

Exactly.

It's just you do have your flexibility.

I have my flexibility, I have the choice of whether or not to take my mobile phone or my computer when I go out. So now it's the stage where I literally take my laptop out, anytime I go out, even when meeting up with friends.

Yeah, I mean I have the flexibility of choosing the work early in the morning, or late at night, or both.

Exactly.

So careful what you wish for. But obviously, like you said, this is like an age old warning.

Yes.

So where does that idea come from? And what are some of the classic stories?

First of all, let's actually take a look at what is the One Wish Willow.

It's something they created for the movie, right? Even though the premise is old.

So in the movie Obsession, it's a seemingly ordinary willow stick. The kind of thing you might buy as a novelty gift, you snap it in half, make a wish, and the wish comes true.

I think in America they have wishbone.

We have wishbones in the UK as well.

That's part of the Turkey or chicken?

Oh, yeah, Turkey or chicken. And we also have wishing wells as well. You throw a coin into a wishing well.

Essentially that whatchamacallit, that fountain, that really famous fountain in Rome, the Trevi fountain, that's a huge wishing well.

Yeah. The great thing is that some wishing wells in the UK now actually accept Apple Pay because not many people carry coins around anymore, but anyway, so getting back to Obsession, the movie follows a character who wishes that his childhood friend would love him more than anyone else in the world.

That's exactly what she does, but her love becomes obsessive, violent and dangerous. He gets exactly what he asked for and it ruins his life.

That's the problem, you see, we throw those things, those extreme sentences around like love me more than anyone else in the world without thinking about how extreme that is.

Oh, yeah, exactly. Think about it. it's like I'm starving to death. Or like in Chinese, 我饿死了。

Exactly.

Same principle.

Often exaggeration. This is actually also the power of the language. So the horror is the One Wish Willow actually grants your wish but literally not according to your intention, you just want her to love you, but according to your exact words, she's gonna love you more than anything in the world.

Now the film was made on a very modest budget. They became a huge commercial success, but the breakout star aren't the actors. It's the stick.

Oh I' m sure they're selling that online now.

Yes, for six dollars ninety nine and it's sold out quite a few times now.

So people are literally buying a stick from a horror movie about how getting what you want is a nightmare.

Yes. Because of course they are. That's human beings all over.

Stupidity. Never ceases to amaze.

But I know these people are not buying it thinking that they really get their wish granted. It's a novelty. But that's what makes the internet response so fascinating instead of being scared, people started writing wishes but with a somewhat legal twist.

Oh, yes. They are writing wishes like they are drafting the contract for a fortune 500 company.

Any examples?

Imagine you want to wish for money. A normal person might say I wish for $1 million. But someone who's seen Obsession or read The Monkey's Paw or actually listen to me read The Monkey's Paw, that's one of our podcast episodes, would say something like I wish for $1 million, the money must be legally acquired.

OK.

It must not trigger any tax audits. No one may be harmed in the process. It must not come from a deceased relative. It must not cause any emotional distress. The money must be deposited in my bank account within 24 hours. This wish is subject to all applicable laws and regulations.

My oh my! That's just legalese. That is just a legal contract. Exactly, people are closing every loophole they can think of. And I think one viral example was someone wishing for love, instead of saying she or he should just love me more than anyone else, like the poor character in the movie did, he added, she must love me of her own free will without any mind control, supernatural influence or obsessive tendencies, the love must be genuine and healthy.

You mean supernatural influence. You're using a stick to make someone love you that is the very definition of supernatural.

Exactly.

So basically, then the meme is that the wish list is so long that the willow needs to go through corporate approve. Sorry, your wish has been sent to the legal department. Please allow 5 to7 days for business processing.

所以许愿柳直接交给它的法律部门, 它的法务处理, this isn't just a country specific thing in English speaking countries same as in China, netizens around the world are doing exactly the same thing writing these loophole free wishes to avoid the horror movie fate.

Exactly.

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文稿校对：小如 & Jenny

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