After a history test, Mr. Johnson asked Johnny to stay behind because he had noticed something unusual while grading the papers. Johnny was surprised, believing he had done well after studying the night before. The teacher pointed out that Johnny and Mary, who had been sitting next to him, had both answered the first question by naming George Washington as the first president of the United States. Johnny confidently explained that it was a well-known historical fact that almost everyone knew.
Mr. Johnson then moved to the second question, which asked who was president when slavery was abolished in the United States. Once again, Mary and Johnny had written the same answer: Abraham Lincoln. Johnny insisted that he had studied the material and knew the answer from his history book. However, the teacher became more curious when he reached the final question about the president during the Louisiana Purchase. Mary had simply written, “I don’t know,” while Johnny had written, “Me neither.”
That final answer left Mr. Johnson struggling to hide his reaction. While the first two matching answers could have been coincidences, the last one was much harder to explain. Johnny’s confidence suddenly disappeared as the teacher waited for an explanation. What began as an ordinary history test had turned into a funny classroom moment and a reminder that copying someone else’s work can sometimes reveal more than intended.