Claim: Nancy Pelosi could not answer a query about which voyage around the world was Captain Cook's last.
Example:
[Collected via e-mail, October 2008]
A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE KIND OF REPRESENTATION WE HAVE IN CONGRESS:
A noted psychiatrist was a guest speaker at an academic function where Nancy Pelosi happened to appear.
"Would you mind telling me, Doctor," she asked, "how you detect a mental deficiency in somebody who appears completely normal?"
"Nothing is easier," he replied. "You ask a simple question which anyone should answer with no trouble. If the person hesitates, that puts you on the track."
"What sort of question?" asked Pelosi.
Well, you might ask, 'Captain Cook made three trips around the world and died during one of them. Which one?'"
Pelosi thought a moment, and then said with a nervous laugh, "You wouldn't happen to have another example would you? I must confess I don't know much about history."
Origins: Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi has represented California's Eighth District in the
The "which voyage around the world was Captain Cook's last" joke long antedates
A noted psychiatrist was a guest at a dinner party, and his hostess naturally broached the subject on which he was most at ease. "Would you mind telling me, doctor," she asked, "how you detect a mental deficiency in somebody who appears completely normal?" "Nothing is easier," he replied. "You ask a simple question which anyone should answer with no trouble. If he hesitates, that puts you on the track." "What sort of question?" "Well, you might ask him, 'Captain Cook made three trips around the world and died during one of them. Which one?'" The hostess thought a moment. Then with a nervous laugh she said, "You wouldn't happen to have another example would you? I must confess I don't know much about history."
Not so bright
The jape has been spread on the Internet since at least 2001, variously targeting redheads, blondes, Valley girls, and Scientologists. Non-specific versions of it have also appeared in joke books since at least the 1950s.
The joke can be rendered in forms other than its Captain Cook version:
"Would you mind telling me, Doctor," he asked, "how you detect insanity in "Nothing is easier," he replied. "You give them a simple task which anyone should be able to complete with no trouble. If they make the wrong choice in completing the task, you have a good idea they're not sane." "What sort of task?" "Well, you might present them with a bathtub that's full of water and tell them they have to empty it. Then you give them a teaspoon, a coffee mug, and a mop bucket." "Oh, I see!" John exclaimed. "If the guy's crazy, he might try emptying the tub with the spoon or the coffee mug, but a sane person would use the mop bucket." "Give me a call on Monday, John, I'd like to run a few additional tests." The doctor handed John his card. "A sane person would pull the plug."
A noted psychiatrist was a guest speaker at an academic function, and John took the opportunity to schmooze the good doctor a bit.
somebody who appears completely sane?"
Barbara "brain drain" Mikkelson
Last updated: 27 March 2009
 | Sources: |
Braude, Jacob Morton. Speaker's Encyclopedia of Humor. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1961 (p. 181). Keeven, Ronald P. A Joke, A Quote, and the Word. Mustang, OK: Tate Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-5988666-1-3 (p. 43). Shubnell, Thomas F. Greatest Jokes of the Century Book 14. Thomas Shubnell, 2008. ISBN 1440419086 (p. 47). Shipbuilding & Shipping Record. "Not So Bright." 1962 (p. 350).
