If Congress is unable to pass legislation that will fund the government by midnight tonight, the U.S. government will shut down. Here is what a government shutdown means for you:

All national parks and zoos will be closed, but animals will be fed and cared for by Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA)

No trash collection in Washington, D.C., which means the only solution is for residents to eat their own garbage

Those who died and are honored in the Holocaust Museum will become de-memorialized and will no longer be resting in peace

Old man with giant beard who walks hundreds of steps to light the gas lamp in the Statue of Liberty every night will be unemployed

You will still be able to send and receive mail, but any attempt to poison government officials will have to be held off until they return to their offices after the shutdown ends

This probably won’t have any actual effect on your marriage, but it’s better to blame it on this than facing what the real issues are

Any harm that may occur to you during the shutdown will still affect your body in real life. Essentially, if you die in the shutdown, you die for real.

Most government workers will be furloughed—a procedure that involves halting their pay, sending them home, and then castrating them with a gelding knife in front of their spouses

Realistically, you won’t be affected by this very much in your day-to-day life, but you’ll feel the full effects during the 2014 midterm election when you lose your seat in Congress