First, a couple meta-comments. Perl not spelled in all upper case, it is either "Perl" the language or "perl" a program/an interpreter. (That would be a point missed on the Perl GRE!)

Second, this should be posted in "Seekers of Perl Wisdom", not "Cool Uses for Perl". I imagine a monk with the appropriate responsibilities will move this thread soon. update: already moved!

Will post an answer to the actual question in a little while, if no one beats me to it.