Quote

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 11:56:22 GMT  <== Quote ==> 

From highroad:

Pythagorean theorem: 24 words. The Lord's prayer: 66 words. Archimedes' Principle: 67 words. The Ten Commandments: 179 words. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: 286 words. The entire Declaration of Independence: 1,300 words. Current US Government regulations on the retail sale of cabbage: 26,911 words.

-- unattributed

Add comment Edit post Add post

Comments (2):

Cabbage regulation

Submitted by Mark on Thu, 22 Mar 2007 01:08:21 GMT

I read some years ago in a publication I consider reliable (I forget which one) that this is phony. There is no such cabbage (or other vegetable) regulation with this number of words. Some Dept. of Agriculture employee spent a lot of time trying to locate its source and couldn't find it. That the number given is usally 26,911 or something like it gives it away. This is "urban folklore" that's been around for many years.

Edit comment

Right you are.

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Thu, 22 Mar 2007 03:45:01 GMT

Right you are. http://www.snopes.com/language/document/govmemo.htm . Still, though the specifics may be made up, it rings true in general.

Edit comment