The existentialist Albert Camus actively explored the absurd in human existence. Among his work was the play Caligula in which he used the example of the mad roman emperor to show that reality is a mad game. In the play the madness of Caligula (the emperor) is not totally irrational but it is a way in forcing people to realize that the world is totally crazy and that individuals must react.

So in the play when Caligula acts madly (he claims to be the goddess Venus, appointing his horse to Consul and priest, forcing senators wives to act as prostitutes in state brothels) he does so to make a point. It makes for a fascinating interpretation but most probably it was just plain old madness.

Via Neatorama I came across the quotes of Prince Philip and after a bit of googling the examples flooded in – the man is so politically incorrect it almost seems like he is acting with a purpose. But like the Caligula in reality he is just a nightmare of politically incorrect behavior.

Here are some examples:

To a native woman in Kenya: You are a woman, aren’t you?

At a World Wildlife Fund meeting: If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an aeroplane, or swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.

To a driving instructor in Scotland: How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them through the test?

To a student who had been trekking in Papua New Guinea: You managed not to get eaten, then?

To an Aboriginal man on Australia: Do you still throw spears at each other?

To the President of Nigeria, who was dressed in traditional robes: You look like you’re ready for bed!

For an expanded list of his mad quotes go here…