After several years of listening to this argument, the barber in front of whose shop the two gentlemen sit says, "There is a way you can resvolve this dispute once and for all. Why don't you send samples of each brand of beer off to one of those new-fangled laboratories where they can test them and determine which is actually the better quality of the two."

The gentlemen find this suggestion appealing, and so they walk across the street to their favorite saloon and ask the bartender to scrounge up two jars, fill them with the respective brands of beer, and package them up for delivery to the laboratory.

After a few months, an envelope arrives at the local post office. Eager to read the test results, the two gentlemen scury over to their favorite bench in front of the barber shop and open the envelope. Inside is a letter which reads, "Gentlemen -- Thank you for submitting the two specimens. We are happy to report that both performed very well under testing. In fact, it is our conclusion that both horses are in the best of health."