Fun facts

[johnpalmer]

Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?

This was a question Groucho Marx would sometimes pose on You Bet Your Life because he didn't want anyone to walk away empty handed. But it's a bit more complicated than one might think.

The most complete answer for those who are resting there "eternally" (until something happens to the site, or congressional budget cuts mandate destroying it and building a Wal-Mart in its place) is "Grant and his wife". But Groucho also accepted just "Grant". Because, again, the point was to keep people from walking away empty handed.

But there's yet another answer that's interesting for geeks.

And that answer is "no one".

No one is put in a hole in the earth, and then covered up - i.e. buried. They are *entombed*... not buried.

Technically, nobody is buried in Grant's Tomb, because that's not what you do in tombs. (And you giggling Buffy-perverts, *get a room*. And if that room is in a tomb, I *DO NOT* want to know about it!)

Comments

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

That question was an old standby from military promotion boards. I didn't remember it from Groucho until you mentioned it.