A couple of times, in crowd work clips, Jimmy has brought up a story about a fool being responsible for stopping an Emperor painting the great wall of China.

Reading (again) The Naked Jape (here) this story popped up (page 237).

Yu Sze was jester to Emperor Shih Huang-Ti, who oversaw building The Great Wall of China (around 300 BC). During construction thousands of labourers had perished and the punishing taxes (levied to fund the build) had almost brought the empire to its knees.

The Emperor’s plan to then paint the wall was not popular – but no one dared to speak out – except for the jester.

His jokes are credited with persuading a change of heart and he’s celebrated as a national hero in China.