A farmer and a scientist were the only two
passengers left in a train car as it traveled between towns. Neither one
of them had a book or anything to help pass the time.
The scientist asked the farmer if he'd like to play a word game.
"Sure, why not." replied the farmer.
"Let's make it interesting; for every
question that I ask you, if you miss it, you give me a dollar. For every
question you ask me that I miss, I'll give you $10." This sounded ok
to the farmer, so he asked the first question.
"What has three legs, takes ten hours to climb a tree, but only ten
seconds to climb down?".
The scientist began to think... and think... and think. He continued to
try to come up with the answer for a good 45 minutes until the train was
ready to pull into their stop at the next station.
"I give up", said the stumped scientist. He pulled ten dollars
from his wallet and handed it over. "I can't come up with the answer,
what is it that has three legs and takes ten hours to climb a tree but
only ten seconds to climb down?".
The farmer reached into his pocket, handed the scientist a one dollar bill
and replied, "Darned if I know."
