An American is walking down the street when he sees a Polack with a very long pole and a yardstick.
He's standing the pole on its end and trying to reach the top of it with his yardstick.
Seeing the Polack's ignorance, the American wrenches the pole out of his hand, lays it on the sidewalk, measures it with the yardstick, and says, "There! 10 feet long."
The Polack grabs the yardstick and shouts, "You idiot American! I don't care how long it is! I want to know how high it is!"