The Hanging Stove

The tale of the Hanging Stove is a wonderful story about three intelligent, well-educated men coping with the rigors of the wilderness.

An engineer, a psychologist, and a theologian were hunting in the wilderness of northern Canada.  Suddenly, the temperature dropped dramatically and a blizzard was upon them.

Fortunately for them, they came across an isolated cabin, far removed from any town. The three hunters had heard that the locals in the area were quite hospitable, so they knocked on the door to ask permission to shelter from the storm. No one answered their knocks, but they discovered the cabin was unlocked, so they entered.

It was a simple place — two rooms with a minimum of furniture and household equipment.  Nothing was unusual about the cabin except the stove.  It was large, pot-bellied, and made of cast-iron.  What was strange about it was its location: it was suspended in midair by wires attached to the ceiling beams.

“Fascinating,” opined the psychologist. “It is obvious that this lonely trapper, isolated from humanity, has elevated this stove so that he can curl up under it and vicariously experience a return to the womb.”

“Nonsense!” scoffed the engineer. “The man is practicing the laws of thermodynamics.  By elevating his stove, he has discovered a way to distribute heat more evenly throughout the cabin.”

“With all due respect,” interrupted the theologian, “I’m sure that hanging his stove from the ceiling has religious meaning. Fire LIFTED UP has been a religious symbol for centuries.”

The three debated the point for several hours without resolving the issue.

When the trapper finally returned, they immediately asked him why he had hung his heavy pot-bellied stove from the ceiling.

His answer was simple……… “Had plenty of wire, but not much stove pipe.”

Education is wonderful thing, but it often colors the perceptions of what passes for the intelligentsia and these elitists end up ignoring simple common sense and pragmatism, occasionally to hilarious effect.

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