What Is a Functional Pearl?

The idea of a functional pearl is also originally due to Richard right I mean he. Was inspired by John Bentley's programming pearls column in communications of the ACM in the 1980s. He likened them to short stories which often start so literary short stories they sort of dump you straight in the action and maybe leave you at the end on a bit of a cliffhanger. And there should be a surprise at the end perhaps.