Three Squaws

Three squaws were each preparing for the birth of their first child. The first squaw placed a large bear hide by a river, the second squaw placed an elk hide by a tree by a river, and the third squaw placed a hippopotamus hide by a path, near the river and the tree so that the three formed a triangle.

It just so happens that all three women gave birth on the same day. The first squaw on the bear hide had a 5-lb son, the second squaw on the elk hide had a 6-lb son, and the third squaw on the hippopotamus hide had an 11-lb son.

To this day, mathematicians credit these three women with the first proof of the Pythagorean Theorem:

"The son of the squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sons of the squaws of the two adjacent hides."