The final element may be an array or a hash:
 
           ($a, $b, @rest) = split;
           my($a, $b, %rest) = @_;
 
       You can actually put an array or hash anywhere in the
       list, but the first one in the list will soak up all the
       values, and anything after it will get a null value.  This
       may be useful in a local() or my().