After having their 11th child, an Arkansas
couple decided that they had enough kids. So, the husband and wife went to the
doctor (who also treated mules) and told him that he and his wife/cousin didn't want to
have any more children.
The doctor told them that there was a
procedure called a vasectomy that could fix the problem, but it was more expensive than
they could afford. The doctor knew the family didn't have much money, so he
proceeded to tell them about an alternate treatment.
The doctor instructed the man to go home,
get a cherry bomb (fireworks are legal in Arkansas), light it, put it in a beer can, then
hold the can up to his ear and count to 10. (A cherry bomb has an 8 second fuse).
The Arkansas man said to the doctor,
"I may not be the smartest man, but I don't see how putting a cherry bomb in a beer
can next to my ear is going to help me." The doctor told him that was the
cheapest alternative he could think of, and the man was still not satisfied.
So, the couple drove to Texas to get a
second opinion. The Texas physician was just about to tell them about the procedure
for a vasectomy when he noticed on the form that they were from Arkansas.. (And the income
range block on the form was filled in with the words "what's income.") So
this doctor also proceeded to tell them about an alternate method of treatment. He
told the man to go home and get a cherry bomb, light it, place it in a beer can, hold it
to his ear and count to 10.
Figuring that both learned physicians
couldn't be wrong, the couple went home, stopping to buy a cherry bomb along the
way. When he got home, the man lit a cherry bomb and put it in a beer can. He
held the can up to his ear (remember a cherry bomb has an 8 second fuse) and began to
count.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5," at which point
he paused and placed the beer can between his legs and resumed counting on his other hand.
Thus his problem was solved!
