... the German scholar who was writing his highly-awaited thesis on the Meaning of Life? This was back in the pre-computer days, mind y'all. He was taking a sabbatical in the south of France to finish the tenth and final volume of the manuscript when suddenly fire broke out in his villa. He hurried to lug out the heavy volumes, one by one -- and when he was running in to get the final one, the fire official stopped him.

"It's too dangerous," the official said.

"But it's the most important volume!" the scholar replied.

"Why?"

"It's got all the verbs in it!"