From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!hp-pcd!bill Newsgroups: net.jokes Title: [ethnic] innovation - (nf) Article-I.D.: hp-pcd.586 Posted: Fri Jan 14 18:01:22 1983 Received: Mon Jan 17 03:11:36 1983 #N:hp-pcd:5500009:000:1386 hp-pcd!bill Jan 14 17:39:00 1983 I heard this one as a Polish joke. If you find that offensive, feel free to use a substitute nationality/ethnic group/whatever. The Polish government was becoming heavily concerned at the ridicule they and their country had been putting up with in the form of Polish jokes, and decided that they should prove to the world that they, too, could do something innovative and noteworthy. After all, the Americans had put men on the moon, and the Russians had invented reusable toilet paper. The Poles were always being beaten out in the ingenuity game, and it was time to set the record straight. A special committee was formed to work on the problem. Several ideas were brought up, but in every case it turned out that either the Americans or the Russians had already thought of it first. After a few hours, one member spoke up: "I have it! We could be the first country to land a man on the Sun!" Well, everyone agreed that that would be a first, all right, and it would certainly put Poland in the limelight. But after a few moments of thought, one other member replied: "Wait a minute. The sun is awful hot. Our astronauts would burn up in an instant!" Silence fell around the table as the members tried to concentrate on a solution. Finally, the first fellow came up with an answer: "That's no problem! We'll fly them there at night!" Don't hurt me. - hp-pcd!bill