A funny story circulated recently about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
creator of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle
evidently told of a time when he climbed into a taxi cab in
Paris. Before he could utter a word, the driver turned to him
and asked,
"Where can I take you, Mr. Doyle?"
Doyle was flabbergasted. He asked the driver if he had ever seen
him before.
"No, sir," the driver responded,
"I have never seen you before."
Then he explained,
"This morning's paper had a story about you being on vacation in
Marseilles. This is the taxi stand where people who return from
Marseilles always come to. Your skin color tells me you have
been on vacation. The ink-spot on your right index finger
suggests to me that you are a writer. Your clothing is very
English, and not French. Adding up all those pieces of
information, I deduced that you are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."
"This is truly amazing!" the writer exclaimed.
"You are a real-life counter-part to my fictional creation,
Sherlock Holmes!"
"There is one other thing," the driver said.
"What is that?"
"Your name is on the front of your suitcase."
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