Three men were sentenced to die by guillotine - a policeman, a construction worker and an engineer. The first person to be executed was the policeman, who was taken from his cell up to the guillotine platform and made to kneel with his head below the blade. But when the signal was given to drop the blade nothing happened. After an examination of the guillotine apparatus no problem could be observed, so the lucky policeman was pardoned and sent home to his wife and children. Thinking the problem with the guillotine was temporary or intermittent, it was decided to proceed with the executions and bring up the second man, the construction worker. So the construction worker was taken from his cell, marched up to the guillotine and placed in the customary postion with his head on the chopping block. But when the signal to drop the blade was given, the guillotine again failed to work properly, and again the man's life was spared and he was sent home to his family, a free man. After a second and more thorough examination of the guilltine apparatus still no problems could be found so the third man to be executed, the engineer, who had witnessed the previous two failed executions from his cell, was escorted up to the guillotine platform and made to kneel with his head on the chopping block. As the engineer waited for the signal to be given to drop the blade, he happened to turn his head just enough to observe the guillotine apparatus that controlled the large, heavy blade and saw that a part of the apparatus had somehow gotten wedged. Excitedly, the engineer yelled out to the executioner and the others assembled, "Look, there's your problem!"

Geoff Kait
Machina Dynamica