This contribution is said, by those who keep track of such things, to be regarded as the most popular joke in Germany.
I'm not certain whether that observation will enhance or detract from your personal appreciation.
The captain noticed that one of his soldiers behaving oddly ... more so than was usual among the men. This soldier would pick up any piece of paper he found, ponder it intensely, then frown and mutter,
"That's not it," and put it down again.
This went on for some time, until the captain arranged to have the soldier psychologically tested. It was concluded that the man was deranged, and his discharge from military service was written out without delay.
The soldier picked up this latest piece of paper, applied the process as before, then smiled and said,
"That's it."
----------------A Final Thought ...
"Dead battles, like dead generals, hold the military mind in their dead grip."
- Barbara Tuchman (1912-89), U.S. historian
There was a bit of comment on this piece when it was published by JOTD. Several people remarked that it was old 50 or so years ago. I'm sure that's true--JOTD doesn't lay any claims to being current. Quite frankly, most "new" material is fairly deficient in my view.
In any case, according to "those who know," it's popular with the Germans regardless of age.
As a side note: the oldest piece I've used in these pages dates to the time of the Peloponnesian Wars (460-404 BC).
As a result of another observation on yesterday's material, I should remark on the quote from Barbara Tuchman. If you're new to this list, it helps to remember that the quotes at the end of the messages are chosen for largely for their humorous value or other relationship to the topic at hand. Not infrequently they happen to be true, and often funnier than the joke.
Barbara Tuchman's comments were probably too close to "inside humor" for this list. Whenever her name is used in historical circles, stomachs routinely begin aching. Tuchman was a historian only in that she wrote on historical topics; her pedigree is open to question and whenever you see her name used here you can rightly suspect an attempt at irony.