John Mica
This is extremely well-known in Spanish-speaking countries, but maybe others of you never heard the story:
According to Girolamo Benzoni, in his 1565 book ‘Story of the New World,’ after returning from his first voyage, Columbus was invited by Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza to a banquet in his honour. One of the guests (possibly the man who received the taxes from ships going to the Canary Islands, who therefore had vehemently opposed the trip, as it would mean great loss of income for him), mocked, “What’s all the fuss about? All he did was sail a few days more than others! What’s so difficult about that? If he hadn’t done it, someone else would have, for Spain is a country full of many great men.” On the verge of ruin, Columbus took a hard-boiled egg from a dinner table basket, & replied, “Noble gentlemen, I will bet that none of you is capable of setting an egg on its end.” The scorner attempted the challenge, but had to give it up as impossible. Then Chris took the egg & brought it down sharply onto the table, cracking the bottom & leaving it upright. His enemy scoffed, “Oh, well, yes, like that, *anybody* can do it!” Columbus replied, “Ah, yes, it *is* easy: ONCE SOMEONE SHOWS YOU HOW!”
How many things in life are similar to that?
This is extremely well-known in Spanish-speaking countries, but maybe others of you never heard the story:
According to Girolamo Benzoni, in his 1565 book ‘Story of the New World,’ after returning from his first voyage, Columbus was invited by Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza to a banquet in his honour. One of the guests (possibly the man who received the taxes from ships going to the Canary Islands, who therefore had vehemently opposed the trip, as it would mean great loss of income for him), mocked, “What’s all the fuss about? All he did was sail a few days more than others! What’s so difficult about that? If he hadn’t done it, someone else would have, for Spain is a country full of many great men.” On the verge of ruin, Columbus took a hard-boiled egg from a dinner table basket, & replied, “Noble gentlemen, I will bet that none of you is capable of setting an egg on its end.” The scorner attempted the challenge, but had to give it up as impossible. Then Chris took the egg & brought it down sharply onto the table, cracking the bottom & leaving it upright. His enemy scoffed, “Oh, well, yes, like that, *anybody* can do it!” Columbus replied, “Ah, yes, it *is* easy: ONCE SOMEONE SHOWS YOU HOW!”
How many things in life are similar to that?
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