Here's one I've heard, originally in Russian === Why do programmers hate legacy projects, you ask? Well, imagine yourself in a situation where you are asked

Here's one I've heard, originally in Russian === Why do programmers hate legacy projects, you ask? Well, imagine yourself in a situation where you are asked to finish the construction of a nuclear power plant on a remote island that your friend started. You arrive on the island to discover quite unusual pieces of design in the project. Among other curiosities, you find a room full of broomsticks, a 90 foot tall fan and a hot air balloon. You think to yourself - what a silly idea, who needs all those things in a power plant? - and your first steps are to remove all those unnecessary dingbats. A few months of hard work later, you have finished the construction of the power plant. You and a few scientists gather in the control room and power the thing up for the first time for a test run. Everything seems to be working fine for a few minutes, but suddenly, everything lights up red - there is a radioactive gas leak! You panic, because you have no idea what could have caused such an issue. You call your friend and ask for ideas. While you describe the situation to him, he is horrified. - Have you really gotten rid of the room with the broomsticks? - Of course! Why would you need a room full of broomsticks in a power plant? - They were holding up the weight of the reactor core! No wonder you have a radioactive gas leak! - My God, why did you not tell me? What should I do about the leak? - Don't worry, everything is fine, just turn on the 90 foot tall fan and it should blow the toxic gas away from the island. - What fan? Oh, this fan? I've gotten rid of it! - Why would you do that?! It was an important safety measure! - We'll argue about that later, people are dying in here! Is there anything else I can do? - You can't stay on the island, it is not safe. Just gather everyone in the hot air balloon and get the hell out of there!