And God said, "Let there be clowns."

And lo, the clowns tumbled forth from a clown car, one after another, in numbers exceeding all reasonable expectation. And God named this species Man.

And He saw that they were ridiculous. Their noses were red and round, their shoes grotesquely large, and their bow ties spun with the velocity of small propellers.

And God said, "Behold, I have given them reason, conscience, and dominion over the earth."

But the clowns understood none of these things.

And in time they, invented gas chambers, built death camps and conducted gruesome medical experiments on children. And still their shoes squeaked upon the cobblestones. Their noses remained red. Their bow ties continued to spin.

And God looked upon Auschwitz and wept, for He had made Man in His image which reflected very poorly on Him.

And the clowns, having exhausted every conceivable excuse, asked for another round of applause.