Message #3165              Date: 88-05-24 12:36

From:          DNA87MNK     "Mikael G. Niklasson LTH F-85/LU-DNA 87"
To conference: JUNK                           
Subject:       <Ethnic> joke

From: shorne@citron (Scott Horne)
Subject: Re: Math Jokes
Date: 13 May 88 03:43:35 GMT
 
Here's one on arithmetic:
 
Four <insert ethnic group here>s went to a used-car dealership to buy a car
together.  When they found one that they liked, they asked the salesman
how much it was.
"$28," he said.
One of the <ethnic>s asked him how much each of them would have to pay if
they split up the cost equally among the four of them.
Realizing that they were just a bunch of stupid, naive <ethnic>s, the salesman
decided to rip them off.  He calculated the cost per <ethnic> as follows,
explaining his calculations to the <ethnic>s as he went along:
 
		    25
		  ____
		4 | 28
		     8
		    --
		    20
		    20
		    ==
		     0
 
	"You figure that out by division.  Watch.  Now, 4 won't go into 2,
	but 4 will go into 8.  It goes 2 times.  2 times 4 is 8; 28 minus 8
	is 20.  4 goes into 20 5 times; 5 times 4 is 20; and 20 minus 20
	is 0.  That'll be $25 even per person."  [I hope everyone can follow
	along & get the joke; it's kind of hard to explain with the ASCII
	character set :-) ]
 
Each <ethnic> paid the smiling salesman $25, and they drove off together in
their car.  Down the road, one of them thought, "Hmmm....$28 total, and $25
each....That doesn't sound right!"
He told the other three, "You know, I think that guy gypped us!  I think we
paid too much."
One of them suggested, "I have a friend who's an accountant.  Let's drive over
to his office and ask him to check it out for us."
They explain the purchase to the accountant, who is also an <ethnic>.  Well-
versed in arithmetic, he checks the figures for them thus:
 
	"Well, there are two ways to check this:  you can multiply, or you
	can add.  First, we'll multiply.  OK, you paid $25 each, and there
	are 4 of you.  Set up the computation like this:
 
		25
		x4
		--
 
	"Now, 4 times 5 is 20, and 4 times 2 is 8:
 
		25
		x4
		--
		20
		 8
		--
		28
	
	"Add it up, and you get $28, which is what you paid.  So multiplication
	checks.
 
	"Now let's add, just in case we messed something up.  There are 4 of
	you, each of whom paid $25.  So we'll add 4 twenty-fives:
 
		25
		25
		25
		25
		--
 
	"Start at the bottom and add up:  Five, ten, fifteen, twenty.  Now come
	down the 2's, carrying over the 20:  Twenty-two, twenty-four, twenty-
	six, twenty-eight.
 
		25
		25
		25
		25
		--
		28
	
	"That checks, too.  No, you weren't ripped off at all!"
 
 
 
 
				--Scott Horne
 
BITNET:		PHORNE@CLEMSON
Smart mailer:	shorne@{hazel,citron,amber}.cs.clemson.edu (?)
uucp:		....!gatech!hubcap!scarle!{hazel,citron,amber}!shorne
		(If that doesn't work, send to cchang@hubcap.clemson.edu)
SnailMail:	Scott Horne
		812 Eleanor Dr.
		Florence, SC   29501
VoiceNet:	803 667-9848

