Who is More Economical:
A Physicist or a Mathematician?

Three Physicists and three Mathematicians were going from London to Paris by train, to the same conference. The Physicists bought one ticket per person. The Mathematicians bought only one ticket for all three. The Physicists asked how they hoped to get away with it, and the Mathematicians said, Just wait and see.

In the train, when the ticket inspector came, the Mathematicians all flocked to the same restroom. When the inspector knocked on the restroom door, the Mathematicians slipped the ticket out of the door. The inspector stamped the ticket and slipped it back in. The Physicists remarked, Aah! That's clever.

On their way back, the three Physicists bought just one ticket. However, the Mathematicians bought none . When the ticket inspector came, the Physicists flocked to the same restroom, and so did the Mathematicians. When the inspector knocked on the door, only one ticket slipped out from a restroom containing six.

See also: Part II of this joke.

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