Member nations of the UN gathered for an annual meeting of technological advancement reports.
The United States ambassador stood and proudly announced, "We have developed a space craft that can fly directly into the sun!"
The crowd was shocked and murmurs of "How could this be!" were heard. His assistant quickly handed him a sheet of paper, he coughed and then addressed the audience, "I'm sorry, actually, our new space craft can only fly 3 centimeters below the sun."
The Japanese ambassador stood next and told the gathering, "Our Japanese scientists have invented a
midget submarine that can touch the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean." Again, shock and disbelief rang through the great meeting hall.
An assistant jumped up and whispered in the Japanese Ambassador's ear. He bowed deeply and said, "My deepest apologies, forgive my mistake. Our new submarine can only reach 3 centimeters above the deepest part of the ocean."
It was now the French ambassador's turn to make announcement of France's contribution. He stood and looked around, "We in France have been able to develop people that can eat with their noses!"
Now the UN meeting was in shock and visible horror that France would play with genetic engineering.
"Actually, they eat only 3 centimeters below their noses."