A group of Q.A. inspectors from Boeing were given the
assignment to measure the height of a flagpole. So they
go out to the flagpole with ladders and tape measures,
and end up falling off the ladders and dropping the tape
measures - the whole thing is just a mess.
An engineer comes along and sees what they’re trying to
do, walks over, pulls the flagpole out of the ground,
lays it flat, measures it from end to end, gives the
measurement to one of the inspectors and walks away.
After the engineer has gone, one inspector turns to
another and laughs. “Isn’t that just like an engineer.
We’re looking for the height, and he gives us the length.”