A Statistical Frizzle

Two men walk into a bar. One sits at one end of the bar and the other at the opposite end. The bartender asks the first man what he wants.

“I’ll have a Frizzle…that’s a beer with a splash of tonic, a splash of orange juice, a squeeze of lemon, no lime.”

Then the man at the other end of the bar orders. “Make mine a Frizzle. It’s a beer with just a bit of tonic, a bit of orange juice, a squeeze of lemon, but no lime.”

The astonished bartender makes the drinks. Then he asks the first man what he does for a living.

“I am a Theoretical Mathematician at the university.”

Then he asks the other man what he does.

“Theoretical Mathematician at the college.”

“This is remarkable,” says the bartender. “You both order a drink that I’ve never heard of. You have the identical profession and you both walk into my bar on the same day at the same time. What are the odds on something like that happening?”

Both men look up and answer in unison, “Twelve trillion, nine hundred eighty-seven billion to one.”