Thread: The Engineer

During the French revolution, the guillotine was developed as a means of capital punishment. On one particular day of public execution, the beheading pool consisted of a doctor, a priest, and an engineer.

The doctor was led to the guillotine first. He placed his head upon the block. The executioner tripped the guillotine carriage. The blade plummeted downward, but jammed in the track just before it could reach the doctor's neck. The crowd erupted in a frenzy of calls that this was a sign from God, showing that the doctor was in fact innocent and should be freed. And so he was.

The executioner examined the guillotine's mechanism, and found nothing amiss. He tested it with a watermelon which was properly severed. The execution committee decided to proceed with the programme, and summoned the priest.

The priest, rejoicing in anticipation of meeting his divine Lord, marched boldly to the platform and placed his head on the block. The executioner tripped the carriage, the blade fell, and it again jammed in the track before reaching the priest's neck. And again the crowd went wild, crying out that God had shown His mercy on the priest and the priest should be set free. And the priest was also released to freedom.

The execution committee reasoned that God would surely not repeat His intercession for an engineer. The engineer was led to the platform. While approaching the block, he peered at the track. His keen understanding of technology came to the forefront, and he said, "Wait a minute. I think I see what's wrong."

.
.
.
.
. . .

Joe