The Shortest Letter
I want to tell you about an interesting story, which is connected with one of the most famous French philosophers and writers at the same time. There are many, many unusual stories in the history of letter writing, and this is one, which will probably be interesting to most readers.
The letter that I am speaking about was written by Voltaire, the great French philosopher and writer. Voltaire wrote a pamphlet, which he sent to his publisher. Some time passed, but Voltaire received no news of its fate. He waited a few months longer - still nothing. So at last he sent his publisher a letter with only a question mark on it. The question mark was painted in green, but nobody knew why. It was situated in the middle of a sheet of paper.
All the copies of the pamphlet were already sold out. The publisher was no fool - it was quite clear to him what the sign "?" in Voltaire's letter meant. He had to answer the letter and he sent an answer that was as short as Voltaire's letter. It was no less clear, either. Just as in the philosopher's letter, there was only one sign in it - "!". The exclamation mark was painted in green, too. Only the publisher knew why. The "!" was in the middle of a sheet of paper again.
This was my interesting story about the shortest letter. And can you tell me what did the "?" and "!" mean? The way I see it is that the "?" was a question and the "!" was an answer! ;)
The letter that I am speaking about was written by Voltaire, the great French philosopher and writer. Voltaire wrote a pamphlet, which he sent to his publisher. Some time passed, but Voltaire received no news of its fate. He waited a few months longer - still nothing. So at last he sent his publisher a letter with only a question mark on it. The question mark was painted in green, but nobody knew why. It was situated in the middle of a sheet of paper.
All the copies of the pamphlet were already sold out. The publisher was no fool - it was quite clear to him what the sign "?" in Voltaire's letter meant. He had to answer the letter and he sent an answer that was as short as Voltaire's letter. It was no less clear, either. Just as in the philosopher's letter, there was only one sign in it - "!". The exclamation mark was painted in green, too. Only the publisher knew why. The "!" was in the middle of a sheet of paper again.
This was my interesting story about the shortest letter. And can you tell me what did the "?" and "!" mean? The way I see it is that the "?" was a question and the "!" was an answer! ;)
by Novak Novakov Novakov
edited by: Nikolay
