Shortly after Haken and Appel proved the Four Color Theorem he gave a talk about the work at the University of Houston. There he told a story about an interview

Shortly after Haken and Appel proved the Four Color Theorem he gave a talk about the work at the University of Houston. There he told a story about an interview he had had with a reporter. He had explained the statement of the theorem and said a little about the proof, and she seemed to understand. Then at the end of the interview, apparently needing a cute tagline for her article, she asked "Professor Haken, how would you feel if there were a revolution somewhere that changed the map of the world, and your work were no longer valid?" When Haken told the story, he knew this total lack of any real understanding was funny, but at the same time he was very understandably pained by it.