During the 1930s there was a man who lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs. He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes, so he read no newspapers. But he sold good hot dogs. He stood at the side of the road and cried: "Buy a hot dog, mister?” And people bought. He increased his meat and bun orders. He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade.

Business was so good he brought his son home from college early to help him out. And his son said: "Father, haven't you been listening to the radio? Haven't you been reading the newspapers? The European situation is terrible. The domestic situation is worse."

The father thought to himself, "Well, my son's been to college, he reads the papers and he listens to the radio -- so he ought to know. So the father cut down his meat and bun orders, took down his signs, and no longer bothered to stand out on the highway to sell his hot dogs. And his hot dog sales fell almost overnight. The father said to the boy, "You're right, son, we certainly are in the middle of a great depression."

(Source: Unknown author)