OT: Lincoln quote

>From a previous post...

[...]
Abraham Lincoln, Once asked, "If you call the tail of a dog a leg, how many legs does it have?"
"Five", someone answered. "No", said Lincoln, "Four. Calling a leg a tail doesn't make it so."
[...]

This is one of my favorites, but it is slightly mangled here. Change "calling a leg a tail" to "calling a tail a leg" and it makes sense.

It was reported to be his favorite riddle. Supposedly, he used it against Douglas in the first Lincoln-Douglas debate (August 21, 1858) with a "horse" substitution.

I first heard it as:

Lincoln: "How many legs does a lamb have? Secretary: "Four"
Lincoln: "If I say the tail is a leg, then how many does it have? Secretary: "Five"
Lincoln: "No. It has still has four. Calling a lamb's tail a leg doesn't make it so."
Granted, this isn't as concise as the example from the previous post. It is very widely quoted using "dog" instead of "lamb". Sometimes it is "cow", "horse", "donkey", and who knows what other four-legged critters. I prefer "lamb" - it just seems more "Lincolnesque". Also, the only actual fully documented historical reference I've ever seen (the above), many years ago, used "lamb". He pulled it on one of the members of his cabinet to stifle a drift into what we might today call "management speak". I wish I could find that reference again - and the context.

-Don Granaman

[certifiable OraSaurus]

-- 
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
-- 
Author: Don Granaman
  INET: granaman_at_home.com

Fat City Network Services    -- (858) 538-5051  FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California        -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from).  You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).