Two astronauts land on Mars.

Their mission: to check whether there is oxygen on the planet.

"Give me the box of matches," says one. "Either it burns and there is oxygen, or nothing happens."

He takes the box, and is ready to strike a match when, out of the blue, a Martian appears waving all his arms... "No, no, don't!!"

The two astronauts look at each other, worried. Could there be an unknown explosive gas on Mars?

Still, he takes another match...and...

A crowd of hysterical Martians appear, all waving their arms, screaming: "No, no, don't do that!"

One of the astronauts says, "This looks serious. What are they afraid of? Nonetheless, we're here for science, to know if man can breathe on Mars".

Ignoring the Martians...he strikes a match.

It flames up, burns down, and...nothing happens.

So he turns to the Martians and asks, "Why did you want to prevent us from striking a match?"

The leader of the Martians says, "Today is Shabbat!!"

they should have stoned them. they had ample warning and witnesses, right? is it still a shogeg?

It seems that over the years, this joke has put on a lot of weight. When last seen, in 2004, it was a svelte


When it first turned up again, in 2007, it was "Shabbos", not "Shabbat". Google "The leader of the Martians says, Today is Shabbat" vs "The leader of the Martians says, Today is Shabbos".

Aren't there scientific instruments that can measure the amount of oxygen in an atmosphere through remote sensing techniques, without requiring human presence?

Şhabbâth (shab-Bawth)

ah kasheh ohf ah maaseh, azoi iz gesheyne.