- After
hearing that one of the patients in a mental hospital had saved
another from a suicide attempt by pulling him out of a bathtub, the
hospital director reviewed the rescuer's file and called him into his
office.
"Mr. Harold, your records and your heroic behavior indicate that you're ready to go home. I'm only sorry that
the man you saved later killed himself with a rope around the
neck."
"Oh, he didn't kill himself," Mr.
Harold replied. "I hung him up to dry."
- A
man who had been in a mental home for some years finally seemed to
have improved to the point where it was thought he might be
released.
The head of the institution, in a fit of commendable
caution, decided, however, to interview him first.
"Tell
me," said he, "if we release you, as we are considering
doing, what do you intend to do with your life?'
The inmate
said, "It would be wonderful to get back to real life and if I
do, I will certainly refrain from making my former mistake. I was a
nuclear physicist, you know, and it was the stress of my work in
weapons research that helped put me here. If I am released, I shall
confine myself to work in pure theory, where I trust the situation
will be less difficult and stressful."
"Marvellous,"
said the head of the institution.
"Or else,"
ruminated the inmate. "I might teach. There is something to be
said for spending one's life in bringing up a new generation of
scientists."
"Absolutely," said the
head.
"Then again, I might write. There is considerable
need for books on science for the general public. Or I might even
write a novel based on my experiences in this fine institution."
"An
interesting possibility," said the head.
"And
finally, if none of these things appeals to me, I can always continue
to be a teakettle."
- Three
patients in a mental institution prepare for an examination given by
the head psychiatrist. If the patients pass the exam, they will be
free to leave the hospital. However, if they fail, the institution
will detain them for five years.
The doctor takes the three
patients to the top of a diving board looking over an empty swimming
pool, and asks the first patient to jump.
The first patient
jumps head first into the pool and breaks both arms.
Then the
second patient jumps and breaks both legs.
The third patient
looks over the side and refuses to jump. "Congratulations!
You're a free man. Just tell me why didn't you jump?" asked the
doctor.
To which the third patient answered, "Well Doc, I
can't swim!"