Mick, from Dublin , appeared on the UK’s ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ and towards the end of the program had already won £500,000.
“You’ve done very well so far,” said Chris Tarrant, the show’s presenter, “but for One Million Pounds, you’ve only got one life-line left, phone a friend. Everything is riding on this question. Will you go for it?”
“Sure,” said Mick. “I’ll have a go!”
“Which of the following birds does NOT build its own nest?
- a) Sparrow
- b) Thrush
- c) Magpie
- d) Cuckoo?”
“I haven’t got a clue,” said Mick, ”so I’ll use my last lifeline and phone my friend Paddy back home in Dublin .”
Mick called up his mate, and told him the circumstances and repeated the question to him.
“Hell, Mick!” cried Paddy. “Dat’s simple. It’s a cuckoo.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
Mick hung up the phone and told Chris, “I’ll go with cuckoo as my answer.”
“Is that your final answer?” asked Chris.
“Dat it is.”
There was a long, long pause and then the presenter screamed, “Cuckoo is the correct answer! Mick, you’ve won £1 Million!” The next night, Mick invited Paddy to their local pub to buy him a drink.
“Tell me, Paddy? How in Heaven’s name did you know it was da Cuckoo that doesn’t build its own nest?”
“Because everyone knows he lives in a clock!”
