So, there were three guys due to be executed. The first was a....
doctor, yeah, that's what he was. The doctor stepped up onto the
trapdoor under the gallows, quietly stood there while the noose was hung
around his neck, and waited as the handle was pulled. Nothing happened!
The law in that state was that if a person "cheated the gallows" in this
way, they were allowed to go free. So, off he went. The second guy
came up for his come-uppance. He was a, a, a.... LAWYER, yeah! Guess
what! The same thing happened, so he got to go free. The last guy for
the gallows was (you've guessed it) a Triumph enthusiast. He had
witnessed these two attempted executions, and he was so excited he
couldn't contain himself. As they led him up onto the trapdoor, he
pointed to the linkage connecting the handle to the trapdoor latch and
shouted "Wait! I see the problem!"
With apologies to all Triumph enthusiasts, lawyers, doctors, hangmen
(hangpersons?), gallows manufacturers and anyone else who felt
themselves maligned by this ancient joke.
|