The Internet is a wonderful thing.  Without it, I may never have read this story.  Of course, it may have been poasted on the VS recently, but one of the other great things about the Internet is that I don't care.

When I was young, my father said to me, “Knowledge is power…Francis Bacon.”

 What I heard was, “Knowledge is power, France is bacon.”

 For more than a decade, I wondered about the meaning of the second part and the surreal linkage between the two.  If I said the quote to someone, “Knowledge is power, France is bacon,” they nodded knowingly.  More than once, I heard someone say, “Knowledge is power,” and I’d finish the quote, “France is bacon.”  They wouldn’t look at me as if I’d said something odd, but would thoughtfully agree. 

 I once asked a teacher what did, “Knowledge is power, France is bacon,” mean?  I got a full 10-minute explanation of the knowledge is power bit, but nothing on France is bacon.  When I pursued further explanation by asking, “France is bacon?” in a questioning tone, I just got a “Yes.”  At age 12, I didn’t have the confidence to press it further.  I just accepted it as something I’d never understand.

 It wasn’t until years later when I saw it written down that the penny dropped.