figure
THE CHINA MAIL, MARCH 20, 1987.
It's a wise child that can
thefathers of
oût
the classic kinship puzzles
So's
Your
Old Man
nephew were in the plane?"
"Correcter than ever."
"And the plane would hold only two people???
re-
originated in the Shakespearian "Wise father that knows his own child." Act 1, scene ii of The Mer- chant of Venice contains the mark. Either way you put it the "Colossally correct"
proverb constitutes an unfortunate "Two people, that is, counting reflection on the morals of mothers;
THEN the Fairy Queen, in Gil- of the gentleman in question to the "And both your uncle and your child that knows his own father"
bert and Sullivan's Iolanthe, speaker? announced to a horror-struck chorus Another combination of in-law- of peers that Strephon was about ship is involved in the following to go into Parliament, she append horrible-sounding bit (one man is ed a list of dreadful things that her speaking to another): "It's really youthful protege would accomplish: quite simple, my dear chap.
"He shall prick that annual blis- happen to be my father's brother-
in-law, my brother's father-in-law, the pilot as one?? ter,.
"I'm out of adverbs to and my father-in-law's - brother "
Marriage with deceased wife's
-sister!"
(Spare us!)
You
We are asked to provide marriages how correct that is."
"Well!" (within the legal limitations, of
unless, of course, the authors were thinking about such puzzles as these.
No collection of scrambled. re-
"Oh, yes. The man who went up It is with the last threat that course) that would have brought this article has to do--that is to say, about this astounding triple rela- with that reckless pilot is my uncle lationships can be complete with- --and he is also my nephew. Con- out the celebrated tangle invented with the curious complications that tionship.
Not all relationship puzzles are sequently I am his nephew, and at by no less a mogul than Mark evolve from certain matrimonial en-
Twain, which runs as follows: based on complications. Some are the same time his uncle" tanglements.
The narrator can then explain, Note Left by a Suicide. For instance, in direct reference extremely simple-like this one: a to the case mentioned in Iolanthe man had two friends, a brother and unless his listeners would prefer to the English law was besieged for 2 sister. Their names were Angus work it out for themselves. Let's <<years in an effort to make marri-
age with one's deceased wife's sis- ter legal The Church, which (na- turally) had its fingers in the legal
By F. Gregory Hartswick
“I married a widow with a grown
daughter My father fell in love with my step-daughter and married her--thus becoming my son-in-law, and my step-daughter became my mother because she was my father's wife......
pie, claimed through some scriptus Smith and Sophronisba Smith. assume that the reader would also
"My wife gave birth to a son, tural banky-panky that such marri- One day an attractive-looking young express this preference
my father's age was forbidden. At last, after nian appeared whom Augustus in- Of course the best-known of all who was, of course, prolonged effort, a bill was got troduced as his nephew. The man kinship brain-dusters is the ancient brother-in-law, and also my uncle, through Parliament legalizing this naturally spoke of Sophronisba as and honourable question (usually because he was the brother of my form of marriage, and we may sup his aunt, but the youth corrected introduced by twelve-year-olds with "step-mother. pose that many thousands of wido him at once, saying hat though he a vast air of secrecy) "Brothers "My father's wife wers whose late lamenteds had was the nephew of Augustus Smith and sisters have I none, but that the mother of been blessed with sisters leaped hap he was not the nephew of Sophro- man's father is my father's son." I equally of cours pily into the arms of fresh commu- nisha Smith, Augustus sister. As suppose that it would insult the and also my biality. The Empire, despite divers Bildad the Tishgite might have intelligence of the reader should I was the son clerical prognostications, did not said, How come?
give the answer to this. hoary "Accordingly, totter to its doom. But at least one
wheeze Oh, well, I'll include it grandmother be Another simplicity, which does anyway. It has a way of turning father's wife's curious tangle evolved.
Marriage of a widow with deceas- n't really involve trick relationships up in disguise. One correspondent wife's husband ed husband's brother was still strict at all, is the following, which has sent it in as
Something brand new, the same time ly forbidden still is, in fact Well, cropped up time out of mind in all
describing stately old dowager band of a two brothers married two sisters, worthy collections of puzzles: at looking at the portrait of a beauti- his grandfath am My Own In the course of events one of the certain family party there were ful girl and saying, "I never had a Grandfather!” brothers and one of the sisters died. present one grandfather, one grand sister, but that girl's mother is my Certainly no one ever The survivors married and had a mother, two fathers, two mothers,
mother's daughter."
such a tangle child. It was then discovered that four children, three grandchildren,
Incidentally it may come as news his seeking of while the husband had married his one brother, two sisters, two sons, to some that the proverbial “wise tomb was entirely deceased wife's sister, which was two daughters, one father-in-law, perfectly legal, the sister had mar one-mother-in-law, and one daugh ried her deceased husband's brother, ter-in-law. The party was held in which was not perfectly legal, by a small apartment, with room for several long shots; hence the man only seven people around the tabl
once was legally married and his child And yet all were served at was legitimate the woman was not without the slightest inconvenience. legally married and her child (the Perhaps you can explain this with- same child) was therefore illegi- out recourse to relativity or the
fourth dimension timate. There isn't any answer; it's one of those things.
One favourite kinship puzzle However, out of such marriages usually set out in the form of a have grown several highly pleas- story. This involves getting two ing and complicated puzzles. One people into a situation where there of the most ancient of these is the is no possible room for another question "Can a man marry his party say in a two-seater plane widow's sister? That's all It is and then proceeding something like amazing how much learned discus- this "Well, this plane would only sion of English parliamentary and hold two people, get me? And this common law, and customs here and pilot took my uncle up for a ride. there, that simple question will After awhile this pilot started to evoke. Then the satanic propoun stunt, and may nephew, who is a der will point out-from a place nervous sort of chap" At this of safety that a man can not point someone usually interrupts marry his widow's sister, because with "You said it was your uncle in he is dead. One cautionary point the plane, not your nephew. $7 To might be made here: the
"Cm
man-marry his widow's ter?/is answered, of
but the statement
married, his widow's sist fectly correct and
able. Perhaps you wou
unraveling it.
In-laws are the not only from
point. Here is verzation
the abo n's mother
in-law fight with
don't
narrator replies,
"Oh,
mcle and my nephew were So this pilot didn't tention to my uncle,
the called to my nephew," "You nothin' yet?" -and stunt than ever. So then my for his parachute, couldn't find the ring some bright individual
mean the pilot
To which th
with
dail
me
those
the pilot is no
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