Sep 4, 2012

Exactly Twice as Big

Engineers just can't help it - it's in our DNA.  This reminds me of one of my favorite engineer stories...

A priest, a lawyer, and an engineer were all sentenced to death by guillotine.  The priest felt he'd lived a good life and offered to go first.  "But," he said, "I'd like to lie on my back so I can look up into heaven when I go".  The priest was laid on his back under the guillotine, the executioner gave the signal, and the blade was dropped.  It stopped just inches from the priest's neck.  "It must be a sign from God", they decided, so they let him go free.  The lawyer couldn't stand it any longer and jumped in line next.  Since it worked for the priest, he thought it might work for him, so he asked to be laid on his back.  The signal was given, the blade was dropped, and again it stopped just inches from the lawyer's neck.  It was hard for everyone to believe, but they couldn't argue with a sign from God, so they let the lawyer go free.  The humble engineer, not wanting to make waves, also laid on his back and looked up into heaven.  Just as the executioner was about to give the signal, the engineer shouted, "Wait!  I think I see the problem."