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Originally Posted by Taltarzac725
Ben Franklin as a Delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress may have mentioned a parable probably conceived in the light of a tallow candle about a flabby two headed snake. This augured some of the problems of other bicameral US Congresses. The snake may also have been hunting for water as well as for larva of various insects as well as other game. Other Members of Congress could have argued that the one headed snake might have had too much of a focus and became flabby because of this.
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Franklin told a funny story to commiserate with Thomas Jefferson after the Continental Congress removed more than half of Jefferson's wording of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson called them mutilations. This is the story of a sign a young hat maker put out in
front of his store and the subsequent changes he made in that sign after his friends criticisms of it. An editor can be quite
fickle however and sometimes the whole meaning of the original gets
swept under by the "foresight" of holder of the correcting pen. The tale seems to belong
rather with Ludwig Wittgenstein than with Ben Franklin.
http://www.history.org/almanack/reso...onanecdote.cfm
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He composed it in these words, 'John Thompson, Hatter, makes and sells hats for ready money,' with a figure of a hat subjoined; but he thought he would submit it to his friends for their amendments. The first he showed it to thought the word 'Hatter' tautologous, because followed by the words 'makes hats,' which show he was a hatter. It was struck out. The next observed that the word 'makes' might as well be omitted, because his customers would not care who made the hats. If good and to their mind, they would buy, by whomsoever made. He struck it out. A third said he thought the words 'for ready money' were useless as it was not the custom of the place to sell on credit. Every one who purchased expected to pay. They were parted with, and the inscription now stood, 'John Thompson sells hats.' 'Sells hats,' says his next friend! Why nobody will expect you to give them away, what then is the use of that word? It was stricken out, and 'hats' followed it, the rather as there was one painted on the board. So the inscription was reduced ultimately to 'John Thompson' with the figure of a hat subjoined."
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