WORLD'S FIRST BUREAUCRAT:

In an idle moment at the dawn of the Stone Age, the Chief Ecologist decided to do something about all the holes in the ground. It seems that taxpayers kept falling into them and disappearing. In a flash of brilliance the Chief Ecologist got hold of a local genius called Willie Glog and put him in charge of the Hole-In-The-Ground-Agency. A born bureaucrat, Glog immediately hired six assistants and they chiseled the regulations in stone:

1. All holes shall be filled up.
2. Dirt to fill old holes shall be obtained by digging new holes adjacent to old holes.
3. Resultant new holes shall be filled in similar fashion, and so on into the night.

This elegant solution created a bureaucratic empire destined to keep Glog and his army of workers busy for centuries.

"Wait a minute," said a local troublemaker, wrinkling his brow and tugging on Glog's sleeve. "If we keep digging new holes to fill old holes, won't we always be one hole behind?"

Willie Glog barely hesitated before replying. "Not if you work fast!" He turned to an assistant and said, "Get that man's name!" ##

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