Oil Patch Rumours
A story that was passed down from Ben Graham illustrates the lemming
like behavior of the crowd: "Let me tell you the story of the oil
prospector who met St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. When told his
occupation, St. Peter said, "Oh, I'm really sorry. You seem to meet all
the tests to get into heaven. But we've got a terrible problem. See that
pen over there? That's where we keep the oil prospectors waiting to get
into heaven. And it's filled—we haven't got room for even one more."
The oil prospector thought for a minute and said, "Would you mind if I
just said four words to those folks?" "I can't see any harm in that,"
said St. Pete. So the old-timer cupped his hands and yelled out, "Oil
discovered in hell!" Immediately, the oil prospectors wrenched the lock
off the door of the pen and out they flew, flapping their wings as hard
as they could for the lower regions. "You know, that's a pretty good
trick," St. Pete said. "Move in. The place is yours. You've got plenty
of room." The old fellow scratched his head and said, "No. If you don't
mind, I think I'll go along with the rest of 'em. There may be some
truth to that rumor after all."