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There's a more serious side to this trick.
It's frequently the case that when something goes wrong
with us out attention is diverted away from the real cause.
It happens all the time with musculo-skeletal
dysfunction.
People keep blaming the straw that breaks the camel's
back and not the underlying structural dysfunction caused by years of
lifestyle neglect.
In musculo-skeletal dysfunction the cause is rarely at
the site of the pain. That's why an X-ray and the blurb that comes with
it are useless - they don't tell you the cause of the problem. only let
you know you've got one.
Same with most of the metabolic dysfunctions
- high blood pressure is not caused by a lack of Avpro
- depression is not caused by a lack of Zoloft
- reflux is not caused by a lack of Mylantin
- attention deficit is not caused by a lack of Ritalin
- piles aren't caused by a lack of Anusol.
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This is another of those tricks played on
the unsuspecting new apprentice or helper in a
workshop.
I was the head machinist of the shop and my
good friend and assistant machinist, Larry,
and I were in charge of shop gags.
We had hired a young man, Herman P., who came up to New York from
Florida to seek his fame and fortune. He was a
general shop helper, a "factotum." He was of a
good nature and wanted to get ahead and make some money.
We asked him if he would like to make some easy money, he said sure, so
we arranged to meet toward the end of the
lunch break to discuss some extra money.
The game went like this:
Herman was to put a funnel inside the front of his trousers. He was to tilt his head back and we
would put a quarter on his forehead, and if he
could then tilt his head forward and make the quarter drop into the
funnel he could keep it. Everybody in the shop was watching and
several said they had a quarter to donate to
the game.
Herman dropped the first quarter right into the funnel then put it into
his pocket. Then the second and the third,
with cheers from the crowd. Herman was
grinning.
At this point Larry went to the water cooler, got a cup of icy cold
water and hid it behind his back.
The next time Herman tilted his head back, Larry poured the water into
the funnel, which then went all over the
inside front part of his pants.
He just stood there a moment contemplating, then said "Guys, you got me.
I've been had."
Everybody had a real good laugh. The best show in town for 75¢.
Wayne Norman
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