Exploring a better solution for this post, I tried the following experiment: 
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;

BEGIN{
    use CGI qw(:standard);
    print header;
    print start_html;
    print "Please wait";
    print end_html;
}

sleep 5;

[download]
What I expected to happen was that the BEGIN part of the script would execute immediately. Instead, when the script is run in my browser, the browser hangs for 5 seconds and then the "Please wait" message appears. Obviously, my understanding of BEGIN is lacking. What am I missing?

$PM = "Perl Monk's";
$MCF = "Most Clueless Friar Abbot";
$nysus = $PM . $MCF;

In reply to A question on BEGIN{} by nysus

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