Charlie applied for a job as a signalman for the railways and was told to meet the inspector at the signal box for a job interview.
The inspector gave Charlie an aptitude test, to determine whether he would be suitable for the position, having told him how being a signalman is a position of great responsibility when it comes to public safety.
He asked Charlie, “What would you do if you realised that two trains were heading towards each other on the same track?”
Charlie replied, “I would switch one train to another track”.
“That’s the correct action”, the inspector said, “but what if the lever broke?”
“I would run down to the tracks and use the manual lever down there”, Charlie replied.
“Good thinking”, the inspector said, “but what if that lever had been struck by lightning?”
“In that case”, Charlie continued, “I would run back up here and use the phone to call the next signal box”.
“What if the phone was busy?” the inspector asked.
“Well if that happened”, Charlie said, “I would run to the street level and use the public phone near the station”.
“Good thinking again”, the inspector said, “but what if that had been vandalized?”
“Oh well” Charlie replied, “in that case I would run into town and get my Uncle Bill”.
This puzzled the inspector, so he asked Charlie, “Why would you do that?”
Charlie replied, “Because my Uncle Bill has never seen a train crash”.
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