All of the discussion about which country “won” the most medals at the Olympics reminds me of the old, old story involving a competition between an American-made and a Soviet-made car. After clearly identifying the criteria by which the contest was to take place, the judges voted the American car the best, and the Soviet car the second best. The Soviet media reported the results as follows: “the Soviet car took second place, while the American car came in next to last.”

The Best of Butler Shaffer