Berkeley Mews by Ben Zaehringer for December 19, 2022

Chambers!

“Where were you on the night that Grandma got run over by a reindeer”?

But seriously, why do Americans memorize the names Coca-Cola gave to the reindeers?

“Nothing further, Your Honor.”

It’s Olive.

Actually, that isn’t leading the witness at all. A leading question is one that suggests it’s own answer such as, “You didn’t see that stop sign, did you?” From the question, the witness can glean that he or she is supposed to answer yes. The question in this comic doesn’t suggest it’s own answer, it asks the witness to if he (or she) recalls the most famous reindeer of all. But it doesn’t really suggest whether the witness should answer yes or no. Nor does it suggest the more important fact of who that most famous reindeer is. A leading question would be “And the most famous reindeer of all is Rudolph, isn’t it?”

I had a thought about this song just yesterday: if you know the other 8 reindeer’s names, but someone asks if you recall Rudolph, he’s not really the most famous reindeer of all, is he?