Most of us will recognize this as the choice Catwoman gives to Batman in The Purr-fect Crime. I watched Jeopardy tonight and it was one of the clues. Not the Batman episode, the original situation which comes from a short story by Frank R. Stockton in 1882. Basically, a king used this setup to determine if someone was innocent or guilty of a crime. If they chose the lady they were innocent and they must immediately marry the woman. If they chose the tiger they were guilty and also lunch.
The story ends when the king forces the boyfriend of the princess to choose a door. The princess finds out which door has the tiger and which door has the lady who happens to be an enemy of the princess. Which door does she tell her boyfriend to pick?
Here is the Wikipedia entry and it references the Batman episode as part of the entry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady,_or_the_Tiger%3FThe Lady, or the Tiger? - Wikipedia
So this was all new to me. I had never heard of this story before. Did anyone know about this?
The Lady, or the Tiger?
Moderators: Scott Sebring, Ben Bentley
Re: The Lady, or the Tiger?
Yes. I read the story many years ago.
- Ben Bentley
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Re: The Lady, or the Tiger?
I'm resisting the joke at Stanley Ralph Ross' expense that you just gave me the perfect lay up for...
- Therin of Andor
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Re: The Lady, or the Tiger?
As a kid, I somehow recognised that Catwoman was quoting something. I would have been too young to know the short story, but other TV shows or movies - or a TV commercial? - might have used the quote for someone with an impossible choice to make?
"Holy nostalgia, Batman!"
Therin of Andor
(aka Ian McLean, from Sydney, Australia)
Therin of Andor
(aka Ian McLean, from Sydney, Australia)