Three men die at the same time. They walk up to Heaven’s Gate together. St. Peter greets them outside the Pearly Gate and informs them that prior to admission into heaven, they must pass one more test. They must answer a question correctly.
Peter asks the first man about his Earthly profession. The man says, “I was a history teacher.” St. Peter smiles and says, “We like history teachers here in Heaven. I’ll make your question easy. There was a big ship that traveled from England for America.
In a famous accident, the ship hit an iceberg and many people died. Please name the ship. The teacher replies, “I believe that the ship was the Titanic.”
St. Peter welcomes the teacher into Heaven.
St. Peter then asks the second man about his Earthly profession. The man replies that he was a garbage collector. St. Peter notices that the man has not showered and emits a very noticeable odor. St. Peter decides to make his question harder. St. Peter’s question for this man is, “How many passengers and crew were on that ship when it hit the iceberg?”
The garbage collector replies cheerfully, “I know that answer. I read a story about the accident. There were 2,228 passengers and crew aboard.”
St. Peter is amazed that the man got the answer correct, but graciously welcomes him into Heaven.
St. Peter then queries the third man, who replies that he had been an attorney on Earth. St. Peter’s facial expression turns to a sardonic smile as he announces the test for the former attorney: “Name the passengers and crew.”
