act boastfully

"Why don't we give him a medal?" Colonel Korn proposed.

"For going around twice? What can we give him a medal for?"

"For going around twice," Colonel Korn answered with a reflective, self-satisfied smile. "After all, I suppose it did take a lot of courage to go over that target a second time with no other planes around to divert the antiaircraft fire. And he did hit the bridge. You know, that might be the answer - to act boastfully about something we ought to be ashamed of. That's a trick that never seems to fail."

"Do you think it will work?"

"I'm sure it will. And let's promote him to captain, too, just to be certain."
-- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

It's a trick that modern governments know too well.

people who enjoyed climbing into an airplane

Doc Daneeka hated to fly. He felt imprisoned in an airplane. In an airplane there was absolutely no place in the world to go except another part of the airplane. Doc Daneeka had been told that people who enjoyed climbing into an airplane were really giving vent to a subconscious desire to climb back into the womb.
-- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

What about the enjoyment of crawling into a warm bed?

BookCrossing: The Day of the Storm

Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see! Finally, another catch. I released The Day of the Storm at the Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip, WA, way back in October of '09 and it wasn't until many, many, many weeks later (okay, just three weeks later) that a catch hit my inbox. Catch rate sits at 12.526096033402923%. The book was caught by a new bookcrossing member from the fine state of Tennessee. The catcher and a friend brought the book up to.. well, let's let the catcher tell the story:

I was traveling to Canada for a visit with friends in Abbotsford Canada. I flew into Seattle Wa and then drove up to Abbotsford. We stopped at an outdoor outlet mall and my friend June saw the book sitting on a bench. She explained how the Traveling Books work and I decided to bring it back to Tennessee with me. I really like Rosamunde Pilcher and I am staring the book now. This is such a great idea. So, this book has been to Canada and now to Tennessee.

refused to admit that the dead man even existed

The dead man in Yossarian's tent was a pest, and Yossarian didn't like him, even though he had never seen him. Having him lying around all day annoyed Yossarian so much that he had gone to the orderly room several times to complain to Sergeant Towser, who refused to admit that the dead man even existed, which, of course, he no longer did.
-- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

There are some things that don't exist that annoy me. Affordable personal rocket packs for one, mainly for the very reason that they don't exist... yet.