Could someone else have been buried in Grant's tomb? Teacher made boy cried.

[kstarnes]

Some years ago, a teacher made a sensitive classmate of mine cry when he couldn’t figure out whom was buried in Grant’s tomb and well, the teacher made fun of him. I always felt bad about that incident and I always had a problem with the question. The presumption is that if it’s Grants tomb, then of course Grant was buried there, a tautological puzzle right? The answer is right in the question, right?

Is it?

I mean, if the tomb belonged to Grant is it automatic that Grant is buried there? It’s Grant’s tomb because Grant is supposed to be there but it’s actual content could be something else: maybe Grant was removed at some point.

[Telemark]

Grant's Tomb

Comedian Groucho Marx often asked contestants on his radio and television show You Bet Your Life who was buried in Grant’s Tomb. The riddle is based on the use of the word “buried.” The correct answer is “no one,” since Grant and his wife are entombed in sarcophagi above ground in an atrium rather than being buried in the ground. However, Marx often still accepted the answer “Grant,” and awarded a consolation prize to those who gave it. He used the question, among several other comically simple ones, to ensure that everyone won a prize on the show.

President Grant and his wife are entombed there.

[Giles]

The correct answer to “Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?” is not “President Grant”, since his wife is also buried there. So, yes, Grant must be buried there unless the body has been removed, but he’s not the only person there.

[Little_Nemo]

Comedian Groucho Marx often asked contestants on his radio and television show You Bet Your Life who was buried in Grant’s Tomb. The riddle is based on the use of the word “buried.” The correct answer is “no one,” since Grant and his wife are entombed in sarcophagi above ground in an atrium rather than being buried in the ground. However, Marx often still accepted the answer “Grant,” and awarded a consolation prize to those who gave it. He used the question, among several other comically simple ones, to ensure that everyone won a prize on the show.

I would dispute this. If a building collapses on people we say they are buried in the rubble. Or we can say that a file is buried under a pile of paperwork. Burial doesn’t have to mean you put something in a hole in the ground and covered it with soil.

[Telemark]

@Little_Nemo

Burial doesn’t have to mean you put something in a hole in the ground and covered it with soil.

But they’re not buried at all - they’re in a box above ground.

[Calatin]

@Little_Nemo

I would dispute this. If a building collapses on people we say they are buried in the rubble. Or we can say that a file is buried under a pile of paperwork. Burial doesn’t have to mean you put something in a hole in the ground and covered it with soil.

I would think you’d have to have a number of things physically on top of your person. For example, if a single sheet of plywood was on me, I wouldn’t say I was buried under plywood. Now, if there were 100 covering me, then I would.

[Greg_Charles]

Hey, as long as we’re picking nits, Julia Dent isn’t Grant’s wife any more, because death did them part.

And U.S. and J.D. Grant aren’t there at all, just their corpses.

… and so on and so on and scooby dooby dooby …

[Canadjun]

@kstarnes

Some years ago, a teacher made a sensitive classmate of mine cry when he couldn’t figure out whom was buried in Grant’s tomb and well, the teacher made fun of him. I always felt bad about that incident and I always had a problem with the question. The presumption is that if it’s Grants tomb, then of course Grant was buried there, a tautological puzzle right? The answer is right in the question, right?

Not necessarily. The tomb could have belonged to Grant, but maybe he let someone else be buried in it. I know that is not in fact the case, but it means that the answer to “Who is buried in Grant’s tomb” does not have a 100% obvious answer.

[Amateur_Barbarian]

And the main point, that teachers who will humiliate a student for failing to understand a convoluted question should have to undergo a three-hour oral exam by one professor from each department of their alma mater. With the professors getting $10 for each question judged to be within the subject’s realm of knowledge that they can’t answer. In public.

[Joey_P]

@Little_Nemo

I would dispute this. If a building collapses on people we say they are buried in the rubble. Or we can say that a file is buried under a pile of paperwork. Burial doesn’t have to mean you put something in a hole in the ground and covered it with soil.

When you are sitting laying in your bed at night do you say that you’re buried in your house?

[iamthewalrus_3]

I remember being flustered by this question as a child, mostly because I’d never heard of a tomb being referred to with the possessive, so I didn’t get that it was supposed to be as obvious a question as “who lives in John’s house?” And it was even later that I connect “Grant” to “US President Grant”.

I do like that, rather than being a dummy question, it was originally supposed to be a gotcha.

[Eonwe]

I think that in common language “buried” and “entombed” are synonyms. Or, at least the former can be used to describe interment in any sort of hole/structure.

[zweisamkeit]

That’s shitty to do to a kid. And c’mon, a teacher asks you what seems like a super easy question? Chances are good that a kid like I was might freak out and think, "Well, Grant would be, right? But who wouldn’t answer with that? So is it a weird trick question? Maybe Grant ISN’T in there so s/he EXPECTS me to answer ‘Grant’ but that’s actually wrong! Oh shit, I’ve taken too long and now I look like a dumbass no matter what…

[gnoitall]

The youngster was right to doubt the obvious answer, asides from all the (quite reasonable) objections here.

Tautological trick questions!

How long was the Hundred Years’ War?116 yearsWhen was the October Revolution fought?November, 1917. (Yeah, go ahead and hand-wave the Julian calendar. But the Soviets themselves adopted the Gregorian calendar less than 6 months after the Revolution, so you’d be just about the only one.)From what country do we get Panama hats?EcuadorYou get the idea. Here’s a few others if you want more examples.

Sometimes I wonder if kids are punished for thinking critically and not jumping to the obvious conclusion. Certain segments of society seem to love the idea of stamping out skepticism.

[johnpost]

they aren’t buried or entombed. they are resting.

[Greg_Charles]

@gnoitall

Here’s a few others if you want more examples.

Nice, but they left out: What action are you asking someone to perform when you say, “Blow me”?

[Chefguy]

I remember on one of Groucho’s shows he had a quite elderly man who had failed to win anything. So Groucho asked him the standard “Who’s buried in Grant’s tomb?” The old guy, confused as to who Groucho was asking, replied “Me?” Groucho and the studio audience cracked up.

[Gorsnak]

@johnpost

they aren’t buried or entombed. they are resting.

All right then, if they’re resting then I’ll wake them up!

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

All of you who are saying “no one, because it’s above ground”’ are wrong. Sorry, gang. While this isn’t GQ, it is the SD:

@Merriam-Webster

1: to dispose of by depositing in or as if in the earth; especially : to inter with funeral ceremonies
2a : to conceal by or as if by covering with earth b : to cover from view <buried her face in her hands>
3a : to have done with <burying their differences> b : to conceal in obscurity <buried the retraction among the classified ads> c : submerge, engross —usually used with in <buried himself in his books>
4: to put (a playing card) out of play by placing it in or under the dealer’s pack
5: to succeed emphatically or impressively in making (a shot) <bury a jumper> <bury a putt>
6: to defeat overwhelmingly

And “inter:”

to deposit (a dead body) in the earth or in a tomb

Sorry, I don’t make the rules. I just work here.

[Duckster]

@Joey_P

When you are sitting laying in your bed at night do you say that you’re buried in your house?

I either sit on my bed or lay on my bed, but not both simultaneously. I do sleep in my bed, buried under the covers, and often under several cats that love playing King of the Hill on my body. I would love to sleep dead to the world but a cold, wet nose in my face [del]asking[/del] demanding to come under the covers with me often prevents it.