Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the firebrand progressive politician everyone loves to talk about and everyone else loves to talk AT, found herself in uncharted territory when a friend posed a seemingly simple question. “Can you think of two objects that can be combined together in a novel and creative way?” the friend asked.

The Congresswoman was taken aback, her mind reeling as she tried to think of objects that fit together like a hand in a glove, or at least a hand in an oven mitt. But no matter how hard she tried, AOC could not come up with a cohesive answer. After a few awkward minutes, her friend suggested combining a rubber band and a pencil, providing a simple and poignant example of what she was going for. AOC was relieved yet embarrassed by her inability to think of the combination, quietly mumbling a thank you before quickly changing the subject.