A horse farmer walked into a bar looking upset.
The bartender asked, “What’s wrong?”
The farmer sighed and said, “I have two horses, and I just can’t tell them apart.”
The bartender thought for a moment and said, “Why don’t you weigh them? If they have different weights, you’ll know which is which.”
The farmer liked the idea, went home, and weighed both horses.
The next day, he returned looking just as unhappy.
“It didn’t help,” he said. “They both weigh exactly the same.”
The bartender thought again and said, “Then measure their height. If one is taller than the other, you’ll be able to tell them apart.”
“That’s a great idea!” the farmer replied.
He went home, measured both horses, and came back the following day looking even more disappointed.
“They’re exactly the same height,” he said.
The bartender scratched his head, thinking hard for another solution.
Then he smiled and said, “I’ve got it! Measure the length of each horse’s tail. That should help you tell them apart.”
“Brilliant!” the farmer said as he hurried home.
The next day, he came back to the bar with a huge smile on his face.
“Great news!” he announced proudly. “It worked! My white horse has a tail that’s one-third of an inch shorter than my black horse!”