The Plumber

A plumber with a rather limited command of the English language wrote to the Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. He said he found that hydrochloric acid opened clogged drainage pipes very rapidly and wanted to know if it was a good thing to use all the time.

A bureau scientist wrote back to him: "The efficacy of hydrochloric acid is indisputable, but the corrosive residue is incompatible with the metallic permanence."

The plumber promptly wrote back thanking the scientist for telling him the method was all right and he would continue to use hydrochloric acid. The scientist showed the letter to his boss, who became worried.

"We cannot assume," he wrote the plumber, "responsibility for the production of toxic acid and noxious residue with hydrochloric acid and suggest you use an alternative procedure."

The plumber, figuring somebody at the Bureau of Standards really liked him, promptly replied that he was still using the hydrochloric acid, it was working fine, and thanked them for their concern.

The letters were then given to the head of the Bureau of Standards who promptly sent the following reply: "Don't use hydrochloric acid. It eats the hell out of the pipes!"

He got the following reply from the plumber. "I'm no longer using hydrochloric acid. Why didn't you tell me that in the first place?"