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Watch How Normal Guy Mitt Romney Blows Out Birthday Candles

Call the police.


mitt romney

Screenshots via Twitter/Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney, the Utah Senator, former Massachusetts governor, and 100 percent regular guy, celebrated his 72nd birthday on Tuesday. We know this because video of him receiving a celebratory bouquet of Twinkies with candles stuck in them appeared via his Twitter account earlier this morning. Happy birthday, Mitt Romney.

You of course don’t really need to know this, and we here at Boston don’t spend a ton of time tipping you off about what Mitt is up to in Washington these days.

But, uh, trust me, you really need to see this.

The video of Romney’s birthday celebration starts off normal enough. A staffer arrives with a platter of the treats—a quirky substitute for cake, sure, but otherwise nothing to see here—and his team is all smiles as he accepts the dessert, and everyone records the ceremony on their smartphones. “What I’ve always wanted!” he exclaims. Things go rapidly off the rails from there.

Romney, video evidence shows, beholds the Twinkie array and the lit candles, and then, instead of blowing them out the way the rest of humankind handles such situations, he instead picks them up one by one and begins individually snuffing out the flames with tiny puffs of air.

What!

If you have literally even once seen another person do this particular move, please let me know. Because I have not, and I don’t really know how to feel about it.

I’m not alone. Plenty noticed the odd series of events and shared their views on them on social media.

Others, meanwhile, lauded his technique as more hygienic.

Or… is it?

Why Twinkies in the first place? Romney, a man who also famously enjoys a good American serving of hot dog meat, described them in the tweet as his “favorite snack.” Romney has also spoken publicly about Twinkies in the past, including in comments at a Utah rally, which were included in a CNN report in January. Noting that the treats were being served at the event, he reportedly said, “That’s right. Those were built about two and a half years ago, but I’m told they’re still good,” adding, when the crowd seemed to enjoy his off-the-cuff comments, “There is nothing about a Hostess Twinkie that has ever seen the inside of a cow.”

What.

Update: TMZ has done the people’s work and ambushed Mitt Romney to grill him on the candle issue. His story? He wanted to save his staff from germs, and also enjoyed some extra wishes as a result of his blowing technique. So that settles it. Or does it.