I don't know why, but...

I don't know why it is, but when someone has a quality smoking pipe, I am more likely to listen to what he/she has to say.

If you have a pipe, try saying this phrase to people, first without a pipe:

"Sir, the meteor is coming toward the earth at an exponentially fast speed."

Then try it with the pipe. See which time people take you more seriously. I bet its the second time, with the pipe.