An engineer and a programmer

A programmer and an engineer are sitting next to each other on a long flight
from Los Angeles to New York.

The programmer leans over to the engineer and asks if he would like to play a
fun game.

The engineer just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and rolls over
to the window to catch a few winks.

The programmer persists and explains that the game is real easy and is a lot
of fun. He explains “I ask you a question, and if you don’t know the answer, you
pay me $5. Then you ask me a question, and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll pay
you $5.”

Again, the engineer politely declines and tries to get to sleep.

The programmer, now somewhat agitated, says, “OK, if you don’t know the answer
you pay me $5, and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll pay you $100!”

This catches the engineer’s attention, and he sees no end to this torment
unless he plays, so he agrees to the game.

The programmer asks the first question. “What’s the distance from the earth to
the moon?” The engineer doesn’t say a word, but reaches into his wallet, pulls
out a five dollar bill and hands it to the programmer.

Now, it’s the engineer’s turn. He asks the programmer “What goes up a hill
with three legs, and comes down on four?”

The programmer looks up at him with a puzzled look. He takes out his laptop
computer and searches all of his references. He taps into the Air phone with his
modem and searches the net and the Library of Congress. Frustrated, he sends
e-mail to his co-workers–all to no avail.

After about an hour, he wakes the Engineer and hands him $100. The engineer
politely takes the $100 and turns away to try to get back to sleep. The
programmer, more than a little miffed, shakes the engineer and asks “Well, so
what’s the answer?” Without a word, the engineer reaches into his wallet, hands
the programmer $5, and turns away to get back to sleep.

An engineer and a programmer