Jim strolls into the paint section of a hardware store
and walks up to the assistant. "I'd like a pint of
canary-colored paint," he says.
"Certainly," says the clerk. "Mind if I ask why you
need it?"
"My parakeet," says Jim. "See, I want to enter him in
a canary contest. He sings so sweetly that I know he's
sure to win."
"Well, you can't do that, Man!" the assistant says.
"The chemicals in the paint will almost certainly kill
the poor thing!"
"No, they won't," Jim replies.
"Listen, Buddy, I'll bet you ten bucks your parakeet dies
if you try to paint him."
"You're on!" says Jim.
Two days later Jim comes back looking very sheepish and
puts ten bucks on the counter in front of the clerk.
"So the paint killed your bird?"
"Indirectly," Jim says. "He seemed to handle the paint
okay, but he didn't survive the sanding between coats."