A thief, a murderer and an engineer are being taken to the guillotine for
execution.

The thief is the first up. The executioner asks him if he wants to be put in
the guillotine face up or face down. He chooses face down. The executioner
pulls the lever on the guillotine, but nothing happens. The executioner
starts swearing and the thief asks what is going on. "Well, we have a rule
that if the guillotine does not work, it must be the will of God. You are
declared innocent. Get up from the guillotine and leave a free man."

Technicians are called out to go over the workings of the guillotine. After
they make several adjustments, the executioner calls for the murderer to be
executed. "Face up or face down?". The murderer replies "I have made peace
with God for my horrible acts. I wish to go quietly without knowing when the
blade is to hit. Face down please". He is placed face down in the guillotine
and the trigger is pulled. Once again, nothing happens. "Dang, it must be
the will of God. You are declared innocent. Get up from the guillotine and
leave a free man."

The engineer is now called up for execution. "Face up or face down?". "Face
up so I can see the acceleration of the blade and predict the exact moment
when it will hit." As he is lying there looking up at the blade waiting for
the trigger to be pulled, the engineer suddenly calls out to the
executioner. "Hey, you see that latch mechanism up there? It can't possibly
work with the cam at that angle. You just need to change the...

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