Why is $_ by far my favorite? Hmmm...there's a car commercial out there, I can't remember which car company. Anyway, it's touting the amazing suspension by having four coffee-swilling Xers driving around. They just keep saying "Dude!" over and over again in various intonations. The driver is heading for railroad tracks, and the exclamations of "Dude!" get increasingly agitated (anticipating hot coffee in lap).

It ends predictably of course, but the point is that we know what they are saying beyond just "Dude!". Well, I do, anyway.
Point: The conversational form of "Dude!" and the perl variable $_ are disturbingly analogous...

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