WRONG IDENTITY

An American woman finally decided to visit her cousin, who had been put into a psychiatric institution, after putting it off for months. It was a cold day, so the woman took her winter coat, hat and gloves, and drove the 45 miles to the institution. On arriving, the reception was deserted, so the woman wandered around the corridors. Eventually she came across a nurse. When she asked the nurse where she could find her cousin, the nurse said, "Haven't you heard? Your cousin passed away last week. Oh, my dear, you must be devastated. Why don't you sit in here and I'll get you a cup of tea." The nurse took her into an empty room and took her coat, hat and gloves and told her she'd be right back. However, after waiting for nearly an hour, the woman went to see what happened. Suddenly, the woman was grabbed by two burly men and put into a strait jacket. The woman protested, "I'm not mad. I work in a bookshop!", but the psychiatrist just shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's what they all say." The woman's ID and money had been in her coat and her protests just confirmed to the psychiatrist that she was a raving lunatic. The woman was locked up for five years before finally proving her identity. The patient, who posed as a nurse, was never found.

Back to the Accidental Home Page