A famous physicist, an old man, and a boy scout are taking a tourist flight in a small plane. After they reach cruising altitude, the pilot suddenly has a heart attack. His last words before he dies are, “There are two parachutes over there … good luck.”
Before they can even talk about how they will divide just two parachutes between the three of them, the physicist grabs hold of the straps of the package next to him, says, “The world needs smart people like me”, and jumps out of the plane.
Shocked, the old man says, “Well lad, I’ve had my time, you take the other parachute.”
“We’ll be okay,” says the boy scout, “Mr. Genius just jumped out with my rucksack.”
Explanation: The humor comes from the physicist’s arrogance as he declares his importance and leaps out of the plane, only to mistakenly grab the boy scout’s rucksack instead of a parachute. The twist highlights how his intellect didn’t save him from an impulsive mistake.
