Here's some free advice. If you find yourself telling someone that you are "invisible" and "unstoppable," and the person you are telling that to is a police officer, you are neither one of those things.

I guess that's really all there is to say about that one.

The last "invisible man" I wrote about was the South African man who pointed a gun at police, apparently believing that the muti (a kind of ritual preparation) he was wearing would make him invisible. See "South African Police Shoot Invisible Man," Lowering the Bar (Mar. 3, 2006). It didn't make him bulletproof, either.

Lest you think I am just making fun of unschooled Africans, I also wrote more recently about a Wyoming man who showed a similar grasp of science. Knowing that police were en route to his home because of a domestic-violence call, and knowing that they carry Tasers, he prepared by covering himself in white latex paint. In what was apparently a strategy of deterrence, he then told them that because the paint was "water-based," shooting him with a Taser would kill him. See "Tip: Covering Self in Paint Will Not Deter Taser Use," Lowering the Bar (Sept. 28, 2010). He survived.

I actually think I would give the South African the nod on this one. Neither one of these are at all likely to work, but at least muti would not make you an easier target.