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An acquaintance of mine was hired as a research assistant
by the physics department of a West Coast university to
investigate the thermodynamic properties of wood. Two weeks
after starting work he was approached by an encyclopedia
salesman who explained that purchase of the encyclopedia
entitled the buyer to have any three special questions
answered completely. To save himself a great deal of work,
the researcher bought the encyclopedia, stipulating for his
first free question a full dissertation on the thermodynamic
properties of wood.

Three weeks later the head of the physics department called
the research assistant into his office and said, "We have a
request from an encyclopedia company. One of their customers
has asked for a report on the thermodynamic properties of
wood. Please prepare the report for them."