Road Painter

A man wants a line painted down the middle of a private road, so he posts an advertisement for a road painter. Only one person calls him to apply for the job.

When he interviews the applicant, the man can tell that the guy is dim-witted, but since he is the only person available for the job he decides to hire him anyway.

The next day, the man shows the guy where he wants the line to begin. "Start here," he says, plunking down five buckets of paint and a roller, "and paint a four inch line down the middle of the road."

The man comes back the next day, and is amazed to see that the guy has painted a clean white line down the middle of the road, nearly the length of a football field. "Great job!" he exclaims, "Well done!"

The man comes back the following day, but is dismayed to see that the guy has only added a quarter of the length of a football field to his first effort. "What happened?" he asks, "The first day you covered a fantastic distance, but today only a little more."

"Well," replies the dimwit, "I kept getting farther away from the buckets."