An Italian workman wants a job, but the foreman won't hire him until he passes a little math test 'Here's your first question,' the foreman said.
'Without using numbers, represent the number 9.'
'Without numbers?' the Italian says, 'Datsaeasy.' and he proceeds to draw three trees.
'What's this?' the boss asks.
'Ave you got no brain? Tree and tree and tree makeanine,' says the Italian.
'Fair enough,' says the boss. 'Here's your second question. Use the same rules, but this time the number is 99.'
The Italian stares into space for a while, then picks up the picture that he has just drawn and makes a smudge on each tree. 'Ere yougo.'
The boss scratches his head and says, 'How on earth do youget that to represent 99?'
'Each of da trees isa dirty now. So, it's dirty tree, anddirty tree, and dirty tree . Dats a a 99.'
The boss is getting worried that he's going to actually have to hire this Italian, so he says, 'All right, last question. Same rules again, but represent the number 100.'
The Italian stares into space some more, then he picks up the picture again and makes a little mark at the base of each tree and says,'Ere you go. One hundred.'
The boss looks at the attempt. 'You must be nuts if you think that represents a hundred!'
The Italian leans forward and points to the marks at the base of each tree and says,
'A little doga come along and shita by eacha tree. So now you gota dirtytree and a turd, dirty tree and a turd, and dirty tree and a turd, data makeaone hundred.
So, whenna I start?
