Murphy applied for an engineering position at an Irish firm based in
Dublin. An American applied for the same job and both applicants having the same qualifications were asked to take a test by the Department manager. Upon completion of the test both men only missed one of the questions.

The manager went to Murphy and said: "Thank you for your
interest, but we’ve decided to give the American the job"

Murphy replied,"And why would you be doing that? We both got nine
questions correct. This being Ireland and me being Irish I should get the job!"

The manager said,"We have made our decision not on the correct answers, but on the question you missed."

"And just how would one incorrect answer be better than the other?" asked Murphy.

The manager replied, "Simple, the American put down on question 5, "I don’t know.", You put down "Neither do I."