By Edward Nawotka

As discussed in our lead story today, one of the benefits—perhaps the main benefit—of joining the French Foreign Legion is the privilege of l’anonymat. It allows you to enlist under a fake name and, after five years of service, retire with a new identity and French citizenship, thus totally erasing your past. What’s interesting to note is that a number of writers have joined the legion—Robert Girardi mentions Blaise Cendrars and, perhaps most surprisingly, songwriter Cole Porter. Of course, we’ll never know who the others might have been (poorly reviewed writers, no doubt). So today’s question is would you ever consider joining the Foreign Legion to escape your life? If so, what would it take?

Let us know in the comments below or via Twitter using hashtag #ppbonus.