My physics teacher told me a joke today A physicist, a poet and a politician are sentenced to death by guillotine during the French Revolution. The poet is picked first. He stands by as the blade is raised, then he is asked, ""Would you rather be face up or face down?"" ""Down,"" he says. They place him in the guillotine, the blade is raised, there is a drum roll, and the executioner pulls the cord releasing the blade... and it hangs up halfway down! Now, there was (in this story) a rule against ""double jeopardy"", so the poet goes free and runs off into the crowd rejoicing. The politician goes next, after the guillotine is checked out thoroughly, the track greased and tested on a melon. Same story. He also goes free. Now it's the physicist's turn. The engineers take the guillotine apart and replace all the worn components, test it three times and finally ask the physicist if he wants to be face up or face down. ""Up, please. I like to see what's ahead!"" says the physicist. The blade is hoisted, there's a drum roll, and just as the executioner gets ready to pull the cord, the physicist points up at the guillotine and shouts, ""Wait! I think I see your problem!""