The Engineering Position Applicants

Young man Murphy applied for an engineering position at an Irish firm based in Dublin. An American applied for the same job, and both applicants having the same qualifications, the department manager asked them to take a test to determine who would get the job.

Upon completion of the test, both men only missed one of the questions. The manager went to Murphy and said, "Thank you for your interest, but we've decided to give the job to the American."

The Irishman replied, "And why would you be doing that? We both got 9 questions correct. This being Ireland and me being Irish I think I should get the job!"

The manager replied, "We have made our decision based not on the number of correct answers, but on the question you missed."

"And just how would one incorrect answer be better than the other?"