REMARKABLE JUG

  “Like most of you,” he said looking ever so slowly around the room, “I never got much of an education. I had to quit school when I was young to help my father feed the family and it wasn’t until my uncle Ralph died and left me a few dollars that I could afford some of the nicer things in life. I guess I should have used some of the money to get a better education but I didn’t. I ain’t got nobody to blame for that except me.” He stopped for a moment and looked around the room to be sure everyone agreed with him. 

  “If I was smarter than I am a lot of things wouldn’t bother me so much?” 

  “What’s bothering you now, Harvey?” Clarence asked. 
 

“It’s a new thing my wife bought for me from Sears and Roebucks catalog last summer. It’s called a thermos bottle. Does anyone else have one?” he asked and once more looked around the store to see if anyone knew what he was talking about. All the heads shook in the negative so he continued.

  “Last summer when I was out in the boat fishing for some cod I carried the thermos bottle and some sandwiches with me. When it was time to eat I opened the jug and it was filled with cold milk. Yesterday when I was shoveling the snow off of my pile of firewood Lois brought the jug out to me again. I surely didn’t want cold milk and I was surprised when I took the cap off to find it full of hot coffee.” 

  Everyone looked astonished. 

   “How does that metal jug know when things are supposed to be hot or cold?” Harvey asked. “Just how does it know?”